PITTSFIELD — The father of a man whom police allege threatened to “shoot up” a Pittsfield business says his son is adamant he made no such threat and will plead not guilty to a terrorizing charge.
Scott Therrien of Pittsfield said his son had no weapon and the incident last week at the Hancock Lumber sawmill, where Benjamin Scott Therrien worked, stemmed from a misunderstanding.
Pittsfield police said Benjamin Therrien, 28, made the threat Feb. 7 to two employees of the company. The elder Therrien said Friday his son worked in an area of the sawmill with loud machinery where it can be difficult to hear. He said it was likely a comment his son made was misinterpreted.
“There was no aggression toward Hancock Lumber,” he said. “None whatsoever.”
Chief Vicente Morris of the Pittsfield Police Department said last week that Benjamin Therrien, a Pittsfield resident, was a former employee of the company. But Scott Therrien clarified that his son was working at the business at the time. The younger Therrien was dismissed from the company following the incident.
Scott Therrien said his son has no criminal record and the allegation has been devastating to the family.
Benjamin Therrien had an initial court appearance Wednesday in Skowhegan, a day after he was arrested on the felony charge of terrorizing. He was taken Tuesday to the Somerset County Jail in Madison, with bail set at $10,000, but he was released a day later after the court agreed to a recommendation by the district attorney’s office for Kennebec and Somerset counties to reduce it to $5,000 unsecured bail, according to District Attorney Maeghan Maloney.
The change allowed Benjamin Therrien to be released without posting bond, but if he fails to appear for any court hearing, he would be required to pay the $5,000, Maloney said Friday.
Benjamin Therrien’s next hearing is scheduled for May 17.
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