Pa. man who shot cannonball into home faces felony

[October 17, 2009]  UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A Pennsylvania Civil War buff faces a felony charge for accidentally firing a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home.

Fifty-four-year-old William Maser had been charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. Authorities on Thursday added a felony count of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure. Also Thursday, Maser waived his right to a preliminary hearing on all the charges.

Maser has acknowledged firing a homemade cannon outside his house in Georges Township, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, in early September. The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, ricocheted and hit the neighbor's home about 400 yards away, smashing through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Police say nobody was hurt.

[Associated Press]

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