Man convicted in NY courtroom shooting

A jury on Wednesday convicted a man of firing a sawed-off rifle inside a courtroom in an attempt to kill the woman who had accused him of groping her.

Leo Lewis, 60, had been acquitted of a sex-abuse charge brought by the woman and was suing her for legal fees when the May 7 shooting happened.

Lewis smuggled the semiautomatic rifle into the courtroom, which had no metal detectors. When his case was called, Lewis stood, pulled the gun from an interoffice envelope and fired.

The shot missed the woman, ricocheted off Village Judge Thomas Newman's bench and slammed into the wall behind him. The judge estimated the bullet missed him by no more than 6 inches.

Jurors found Lewis, of Ramapo, guilty of attempted murder and two weapons charges. Rockland County Court Judge Victor Alfieri scheduled sentencing for Feb. 4.

Defense attorney Barry Weiss told the jury Tuesday that Lewis was not shooting at the woman. Lewis could easily have fired more bullets from the 10-inch-long rifle if he had intended to hurt her, but he did not, Weiss said.

Assistant District Attorney Louis Valvo said Lewis shot directly at the woman, and perhaps missed because the gun's barrel was so short.

The woman, a 22-year-old acquaintance of Lewis' son, had accused Lewis of forcible touching and of stalking her.

Lewis had signed a statement after the shooting that said she "lied about me touching her. She already ruined my life and at times, I thought about killing her."