Woman guilty of mailing weapons to Tester in D.C.

A Troy woman was found guilty Wednesday of mailing a loaded gun and other materials to U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

Cathleen Roselyn Cantlon, 56, faces up to 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Missoula found her guilty of one count of interstate mailing of a firearm and ammunition and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person who has been committed to a mental institution.

According to court documents, U.S. Capitol Police were called to the Senate’s mail facility in Maryland on May 18, 2015, about two suspicious packages that were addressed to Tester and had a return address of a True Value store in Troy.

The package was put through an X-ray machine that revealed a knife, handgun and other items.

The package contained a loaded .22-caliber handgun, 53 rounds of ammunition, a knife, pepper spray, a five-page letter and other papers.

The letter was addressed to “Senator John Tester Homeland Security” and referred to mental health and banking issues, according to court documents.

It was signed by Cantlon with a Troy address.

The second package contained papers that included an envelope with the words “hazard contaminated/dirty bomb” written on it.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that two firearms were seized from Cantlon in October 2014, only to be returned later.

One of the guns was the same one mailed to Tester.

Cantlon’s sentencing is set for May 5.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.