Sheriff deputies return Theresa Salazar to the Lycoming County Prison in Sept. 2022. SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

Acquitted on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault, a jury has found Theresa Salazar, 57, of Williamsport, guilty of a slew of other charges stemming from a July 3, 2022, incident in which she rammed her 2006 Saturn Relay into the entrance of the Peter J. McGovern World of Little League Museum on Route 15 in South Williamsport.

The verdict comes after two days of defense and other testimony in which Salazar claimed a “reverse sneezing” attack caused the crash, while prosecution argued Salazar has harassed Little League as an organization, claiming her great-uncles were founding members but were written out of its history.

During testimony Wednesday, museum coordinator Melissa Mull testified that she initially believed the crash to be the result of a medical emergency, before the driver uttered the chilling words, “I’m Theresa Salazar. You know who I am. You should be afraid.”

Mull further testified that close to 40 people were in the museum at the time, though luckily, few were in the gift shop portion of the building when Salazar’s van plowed through the vestibule, paused briefly, then accelerated through a second set of doors before slamming into a wall.

Mull also testified that an employee who recently clocked out for the day would have been walking through the doors at the moment of the crash, had it not been for Mull pulling her aside to show her something on her laptop.

Pat Wilson, chief operating officer for Little League International, testified that Salazar started writing letters in 2000, experienced a roughly 16-year hiatus, then escalated into a period of harassment prior to the incident.

On the witness stand, Wilson said Salazar wanted recognition and even a degree of ownership for not only her great-uncles’ alleged roles but also her own perceived role in promoting Little League Baseball.

At one point, Salazar declared herself sole executor of Little League Baseball, going as far sending Little League International a notarized self-penned letter stating so, according to Wilson.

Brian McClintock, senior communications executive for Little League International testified that total damages between temporary and permanent repairs totaled more than $74,000.

Responding officer, Cpl. William McGinniss Jr., of the South Williamsport Police Department, testified that Salazar had initially refused to give her name, but appeared jovial during his observation of her.

During McGinniss’ testimony, assistant District Attorney Matthew Welickovitch played a series of seven voicemails Salazar had left for Little League International President Stephen Keener between July 2 and 3.

Many of the voicemails were left within mere minutes of each other.

The voicemails became increasingly agitated in nature, with one left within two hours of the crash containing a homophobic slur. Salazar openly grinned when the particular voicemail was played in court.

Thursday morning testimony began with Salazar taking the stand in her own defense.

After speaking about the history of her feud with Little League, the result of a promise Salazar said she made to her grandmother to restore her family’s legacy, the focus turned to the day of the incident.

Salazar testified that she had been on her way to a store on Southern Avenue in South Williamsport to get some frozen food items when she decided to first stop at the Little League Museum to inquire about who the new counsel was.

As she was approaching the museum, she suffered a “reverse sneezing attack” that rendered her partially blacked out, according to her testimony. She remembers seeing the first set of doors prior to hitting them then coming to after hitting the wall, she said on the stand.

During cross examination, Salazar admitted that though she has had reverse sneezing since childhood, this was the first instance of it occurring while she was driving, an occurrence labeled by Welickovitch as a “cosmic coincidence.”

Welickovitch also questioned that, despite claiming to be scared following the incident, Salazar’s demeanor was anything but, which she attributed to her training as a cheerleader, which instilled an “always put on a smile” attitude.

A jail-recorded phone call from the day of the incident was played in which Salazar stated to her brother, “hey … don’t do anything for me. I took my van and I went ahead and I ran it into headquarters.”

When questioned on why she had not told her brother about the sneezing attack, Salazar said that she was trying to keep the call short, in order to avoid an argument with her brother, though she had mentioned “sneeze rage” in jail-recorded phone calls with her mother and daughter.

When pressed by Welickovitch, Salazar admitted that despite her personally held belief that she has a personal stake in Little League, there has been no acknowledgment by Little League of Salazar being involved in any official capacity.

And, despite testifying for the defense that money was never a motivating factor for her actions, Welickovitch pointed to documents and voicemails in which Salazar requested retroactive compensation, as well as to be put on the payroll for her perceived role in promoting Little League Baseball.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Helen Stolinas pressed the jury to consider not what happened on July 3, but how and why, reiterating the defense position that the crash was the result of a “reverse sneeze rage.”

She further argued that even if the reverse sneezing fit was not believable to the jury, they could not convict Salazar without finding that she had the intent to kill or harm Mull.

Stolinas stressed that prior to the crash, Salazar had never met Mull, adding that due to the reflective glass on the exterior, Salazar would have had no idea that Mull was in the building.

Stolinas also noted that Mull would have never been a target because she had no managerial role in Little League International relating to the recognition Salazar had been seeking.

Salazar was found not guilty of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. She was found guilty of risking catastrophe, terroristic threats, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and six counts of reckless endangering.

Salazar remains jailed without bail pending sentencing. A sentencing date has not yet been set.