BANGOR, Maine — A local man waived indictment and pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to destroying government property by driving through a closed gate at the Cutler Naval Support Activity installation in search of a fishing hole, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Richard Hughes, 30, of Bangor remains free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
A sentencing date has not been set.
The replacement cost of the electronic gate was $2,722, according to court documents. The installation cost of the new gate was $3,500.
By pleading guilty, Hughes admitted that in the early morning hours of June 5, 2015, he drove a truck owned by his employer, Hahnel Brothers Co. of Lewiston, through the gate in an attempt to find a fishing hole located on the Navy’s Cutler site.
Hughes was working at the site the previous day for Hahnel Brothers, which was contracted to repair a roof at a facility located at the former naval base, according to the prosecution version of events to which he pleaded guilty. He and another employee, who is not named in court documents, went to supper at a restaurant after work on June 4, 2015, in a company truck.
When they returned, Hughes drove to the Cutler property “in hopes of finding a fishing hole,” the document said.
“The defendant drove the truck to the gate, temporarily stopped, and then drove the truck through the gate,” the prosecution version said. “The defendant destroyed the gate when he drove the truck through it. The gate was then inoperable. Surveillance footage captured the defendant driving the truck through the gate.”
Information about whether Hughes consumed alcohol at the restaurant was not included in court documents.
He confessed the next day to police that he had destroyed the gate.
Hughes faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to court documents.
He also could be ordered to pay restitution totaling more than $6,000 to replace and install a new gate.