Trial underway for woman who crashed into Little League museum
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"I'm Theresa Salazar. You know who I am. You should be afraid."
Those words began the Wednesday morning trial of Salazar, who is accused of purposefully ramming her vehicle into the entrance of the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum on Route 15 in South Williamsport on July 3, 2022.
Salazar faces charges of attempted homicide, causing a catastrophe, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, felony mischief, felony trespassing and six counts of reckless endangerment.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Welickovitch's opening set the stage for the prosecution argument that Salazar, under the belief that her uncles George and Bert Bebble had been written out as founders of the Little League World Series, had engaged an escalating campaign against the league, including letter writing campaigns and repeated, harassing voicemails, seven of which were left less than 24 hours prior to the crash.
Welickovitch argued that the incident was the culmination of a 20-year series of actions that includes Salazar obtaining a self-penned notarized letter naming her the sole executor of Little League International and attempting to file criminal charges against the League for possessing items donated to the League by the Bebble family.
Defense secretary Helen Stolinas argued that Salazar's issues with Little League were not malicious, but amounted to "a thorn in their side," stating that her actions were out of her concern and caring for Little League.
Her "non-threatening" actions, Stolinas argued, were born out of her desire to restore the legacy of the Bebbles, while acknowledging that this was not the case before the court.
Bebble's daughter has previously disavowed Salazar's actions.
Stolinas urged the jury to consider the intent of Salazar's actions on the day of the incident, arguing that she could not have the intent to murder anyone inside the building due to her lack of prior knowledge of those inside.
Stolinas further argued that those present had no corporate capacity within Little League, and therefore would not have been targets of Salazar's ongoing feud with Little League.
Additionally, Stolinas argued that Little League had in fact attempted to stifle Salazar's right to voice her opinion by serving her with two cease and desist letters.
There was no mention of a reason behind the crash, however Stolinas claimed that after crashing through the building, Salazar did not attack anyone or make any threatening statements.
A late afternoon motion by Stolinas to dismiss an attempted homicide charge, as well as two charges of attempted aggravated assault was over-ruled by presiding Judge Eric Linhardt, citing the pause between when Salazar's vehicle first entered the building before driving through a second set of doors.
This pause, Linhardt said, would be sufficient time for Salazar to take notice of the employees in the museum that day, and make a conscious decision to attempt to harm them.
Following witness testimony by two museum employees, one of which Salazar had uttered the eerie warning to, Brian McClintock, Senior Communications Executive for Little League International, testified that the extent of the damage to the museum had exceeded $74,000.
On the witness stand, Cpl. William McGuiness Jr., a 12-year veteran of the South Williamsport Police Department, told the jury that following the incident, Salazar did not appear as would be expected of someone who had been in an accident of that magnitude.
Alternatively, McGuiness described Salazar's demeanor as jovial, perhaps with an air of content at what had occurred.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday.