Pa. Priest Is Found Guilty of Assault
Wed Dec 3,10:19 AM ET
By MARTHA RAFFAELE, Associated Press Writer
LEBANON, Pa. - A Serbian Orthodox priest accused of pulling a gun on the council president of the church where he had presided for 15 years has been convicted of assault and reckless endangerment.
However, a jury found the Rev. Filip Velisavljevic innocent of charges of terroristic threats and unlawful restraint stemming from a fight that both men testified was over who would control church business.
Velisavljevic, who was relieved of his pastoral duties after the Dec. 9, 2002, argument at the Church of the Holy Resurrection of Christ in Lebanon, showed no emotion as the verdict was read Tuesday. He faces six months to two years in jail on each of the two charges; sentencing was set for Feb. 2.
Velisavljevic, 55, declined to comment after the verdict.
"I think there's a whole lot going on that hasn't been brought out," said his lawyer, Patrick M. Reb.
Reb said that there was a power struggle in the church and that the church board had asked his client to resign. Council members have said the dispute was fueled by tension between older, American-born members and younger immigrants who joined more recently.
Velisavljevic testified during the trial that he pulled the gun to protect himself after church council president Frederick Pantelich cornered him in a church office and became threatening, including hefting a stool above his head.
The gun went off during a struggle, they testified. The bullet apparently grazed the priest's foot.
Pantelich, 69, had testified earlier Tuesday that he pleaded with Velisavljevic.
"I was begging him not to shoot me," he said.
Velisavljevic also faces a civil lawsuit in which the council alleges he took at least $5,800 in religious items from the church, and that he defrauding the church of about $10,000. Some of the items have been returned to the church, but Velisavljevic has denied taking others.
