Serbian presbyter convicted of assault
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Wed Dec 3,10:04 AM ET Exiting the Lebanon County Court House Serbian
Orthodox priest Filip Velisavljevic breaks for lunch on the opening
day of his trial Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2003, in Lebanon, Pa. Velisavljevic
is accused of pulling a gun in December 2002 on the council president
of the church where he once presided. He is charged with simple
assault, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and making
terroristic threats. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
Serbian presbyter convicted of assault
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
BY BARBARA MILLER Of The Patriot-News
LEBANON - A Serbian Orthodox priest who shot himself in the foot
during a scuffle with a church member a year ago was found guilty last
night in Lebanon County Court of simple assault and recklessly
endangering another person. The Rev. Filip Velisavljevic, 54, of the
1300 block of Jill Ann Drive, was found not guilty of making
terroristic threats and unlawful restraint by a jury of six men and
six women after two hours of deliberation.
Velisavljevic, who stepped down in April as presbyter of Holy
Resurrection of Christ Church on East Weidman Street, was accused of
assaulting church council President Frederick Pantelich, 69, of
Lebanon, on Dec. 9.
Church members have characterized the case as stemming from a struggle
for control between older American-born members of the congregation
and more recent immigrants from Yugoslavia.
Jennifer Gettle, assistant district attorney, said control over a
$250,000 bequest to the church is one of the issues under contention.
Pantelich, a lifelong church member, said he went to the church around
10 a.m. on Dec. 9 to take out the trash and prepare for cookie baking.
He said Velisavljevic, who arrived about the same time, asked him to
unlock the church for him and to come into the church office.
Pantelich said he told the priest, "The board is going to run things,
not the priest." Velisavljevic pulled out a gun and twice told him to
drink from a bottle of scotch that was on the table, which he
pretended to do, Pantelich testified.
Pantelich said he tried unsuccessfully to grab the gun from
Velisavljevic, then the priest told him to go into the basement. "The
only thing I could imagine was he wanted to shoot me when we were down
there," Pantelich said.
As he tried to escape, Velisavljevic grabbed him and the scuffle moved
outside, Pantelich said.
"Pow, the gun went off. I said, 'Are you OK?'" Pantelich testified.
The priest, who was wounded in the foot, put his hand out and
Pantelich said he shook it before leaving.
Velisavljevic said Pantelich struck him in the glasses with his elbow
when he tried to leave the church office, then threatened to hit him
with a stool.
After he left the church, Pantelich sprung from the cellar steps and
wrestled him to the ground, Velisavljevic said. That is when the gun
went off, the priest testified.
Velisavljevic, who remains free on $10,000 bail, faces theft charges,
having been accused of unlawfully obtaining $4,463 in self-employment
tax money between 2000 and 2002. Church members filed a civil lawsuit
in August alleging Velisavljevic took at least $5,800 worth of
religious items and defrauded the church of $10,000 in self-employment
tax payments over five years. BARBARA MILLER: 832-2090 or bmiller@p...
Copyright 2003 PennLive.com. All Rights Reserved.
2003.12.03 AP: 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.
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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