FBI: Oregon man threatened Erie police chief

Updated Dec. 13, 2022: Gregory Truchanowicz in November 2020 entered into a pretrial diversion agreement in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon, in which prosecution was deferred for 18 months, until May 1, 2022, providing he abided by certain conditions and requirements set out in the agreement. They included a prohibition on drug and alcohol use; participating in drug/alcohol and mental health counseling; a prohibition on owning or possessing firearms; and having no direct or indirect contact with the Erie Bureau of Police or its employees, according to the agreement.

Under the agreement, the charges would be dismissed if Truchanowicz successfully completed the diversion program.

In December 2021, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss the information against Truchanowicz with prejudice, stating that he had successfully completed and met his pretrial diversion agreement. A U.S. District Court judge issued an order dismissing the case on Dec. 7, 2021.

Originally published Feb. 6, 2019:

Federal authorities charge that an Oregon man with ties to Erie threatened to kill Erie's police chief and claimed to have also threatened the life of the police chief in Millcreek Township.

Gregory Truchanowicz, of Bend, Oregon, whom news media outlets in Oregon reported as 43 when they first reported the story on Tuesday, appeared in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon, on Tuesday to face a charge of interstate threats filed by the FBI.

Truchanowicz waived his preliminary hearing and was ordered detained, according to court documents.

Authorities charge in Truchanowicz's criminal complaint that he sent an email to Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny on Jan. 14 stating in part that it is his job "to kill you and any/all of your subordinates as I swore an oath to defend America from you, domestic enemies of the constitution."

Truchanowicz also wrote in the email that Spizarny is the leader of an organization "known to have committed terrorism against me with text message evidence of perjury," according to the complaint.

Truchanowicz became known to the FBI in October, when authorities said he submitted an online tip to the FBI stating that he had written to the chiefs of police in Erie and Millcreek Township, claiming that it was his duty to kill them, according to information in his criminal complaint.

Truchanowicz wrote in the tip that Erie police gave him permission on July 4, 2016, to have a lawful protest against "felony official oppression by police," and that police then authorized a "skinhead gang member," among others, to assault him, according to information in the complaint.

Truchanowicz also stated in the tip that he was later unlawfully detained by Millcreek police who "IP blocked me for report this terrorism," and he fled the state in fear of his life.

He stated he wrote the Erie and Millcreek police chiefs informing them that it was his duty "as a professional soldier" to kill them as leaders of terrorist organizations and that he banned them and their subordinates from Oregon "with intent to kill them on sight," investigators wrote in the complaint.

Millcreek Police Chief Scott Heidt said Wednesday that he never received any correspondence from Truchanowicz, whom his department had dealings with in the past when he lived in the area.

Spizarny, who was not Erie's police chief on July 4, 2016, said Wednesday that he does not know Truchanowicz and has not had any dealings with him. But he said Truchanowicz had been sending emails to the police department for a while, describing them as "bizarre" and "general."

A check of online court records show no criminal or civil cases filed against Truchanowicz in Erie County. It was not known Wednesday how long Truchanowicz lived in the Erie area or when he moved to Oregon.

The FBI wrote in the criminal complaint that they traced the online tip from October to Truchanowicz, and they learned during a check of his criminal history that he had a protective order against him. The order prevents him from contacting a person he is connected to through a family relative who lives in Pennsylvania and is in law enforcement, the FBI said.

The order also prohibits him from possessing firearms. FBI agents later visited Truchanowicz and told him not to threaten other people, according to the complaint.

Truchanowicz attempted to purchase a gun in Bend, Oregon, on Nov. 17 but was denied the purchase because of the protective order from Pennsylvania. Three days after the attempted purchase, Truchanowicz emailed the Oregon State Police, which ran the firearms check, and said that a biker friend with a devil tattoo offered him a gun and a box of ammunition, and he stated, "I have the right to defend myself and will do so by any means necessary," according to the complaint.

Truchanowicz told an Oregon State Police official who contacted him on Nov. 29 that he did not accept the gun but could acquire a weapon if needed. He also stated that he has post-traumatic stress disorder, is seeking treatment through Veterans Affairs, is taking medication and is participating in therapy, investigators wrote in the complaint.

The FBI said it received another online tip from Truchanowicz on Nov. 30 in which he referenced Erie police and the Oregon State Police and declared civil war against the police, according to the complaint.

When FBI agents interviewed Truchanowicz on Jan. 18 concerning the email sent to Spizarny he at first stated he did not remember sending it, but later admitted to sending it while he was in Oregon, the FBI wrote in the complaint.

Tim Hahn can be reached at 870-1731 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: FBI: Oregon man threatened Erie police chief