Felon convicted of illegally owning guns

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A felon accused by federal authorities of posing a threat to Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and others was convicted of illegally owning guns.
After a one-day trial Monday, U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill Jr. found Douglas B. Leuschen, 53, of Strattanville, guilty of illegally owning a pistol, four rifles, a shotgun and ammunition in July of last year. Leuschen faces as much as 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in January.
Leuschen was barred from owning handguns because of several felony convictions, including one of pointing a gun at a motorist who pulled in front of him in traffic in Erie in 1989. He also has a conviction for assault in Virginia in 1980.
Authorities said Leuschen had been upset with Ridge since the late 1980s, when he was apparently denied a workers' compensation claim for a 1988 injury. Sensenich said Leuschen had become "fixated" on Ridge, blaming the former governor for his personal problems.