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AQ 72A (Rev. 8/82) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. : Criminal No. 98-1 DONALD LEE FENTON, . ae nscet Defendant Gio Fas MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER D. BROOKS SMITH, District Judge. Donald Lee Fenton was tried before a jury and found guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B), threatening a federal official. At the close of the government’s case, as well as at the conclusion of all the evidence, Fenton moved for a judgment of acquittal under Fed. R. Crim. P. 29, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. I deferred ruling on both motions. After careful consideration of the briefs and oral argument, J agree and will grant the motion.’ L Fenton’s conviction arises out of a heated conversation with insurance adjuster Randy Leventry, in which he made death threats against, inter alia, Leventry, the staff of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania office of Erie Insurance Company, United States Representative John Murtha and his aide, John Hugya. The evidence at trial revealed that this altercation arose, not over matters of political philosophy, but over a dispute concerning allegedly defective repairs to Fenton’s fourteen-year-old pickup truck. How Congressman Murtha’s name came to be Fenton has also been prosecuted under state law for terroristic threats and harassment by communication. It goes without saying that his conviction in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County is unaffected by the instant adjudication.