By Joey Cresta
Foster's Daily Democrat
October 1, 2008
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/GJNEWS_01/710013907/-1/FOSNEWS
DOVER — The Somersworth man who took a number of people hostage at the Hillary Clinton campaign headquarters in downtown Rochester last year falsely claiming he had a bomb will spend the next two years in county jail.
Leeland Eisenberg was sentenced Tuesday morning to three consecutive one-year sentences in the Strafford House of Corrections for charges stemming from the Nov. 30, 2007, incident
He was credited with 306 days of pretrial confinement.
Eisenberg, 47, of 7 Brook Drive, Somersworth, pleaded guilty to six class B felonies at Strafford County Superior Court, which included four counts of kidnapping, one count of false report to police and one count of criminal threatening.
Eisenberg also pleaded guilty to an unrelated stalking charge that was entered into his capped plea.
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| Leeland Eisenberg is escorted off to jail following his sentencing hearing in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover on Tuesday. Eisenberg pleaded guilty to charges relating to a standoff at Sen. Hillary Clinton's headquarters in Rochester on Nov. 30, 2007. Mike Ross/Chief photographer |
When Judge Kenneth C. Brown asked Eisenberg if anyone had coerced him into entering a guilty plea, he said, "Just my conscience."
On Nov. 30, 2007, Eisenberg entered Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign office on North Main Street in downtown Rochester with what appeared to be a bomb, taking workers in the office hostage, Rochester Deputy Chief Michael Allen recapped in court Tuesday.
Allen said the device ultimately proved to be flares taped together with duct tape, but responding personnel had to treat the incident as if the bomb was real because when assumptions are made in tactical situations like this "people get hurt."
The standoff lasted for about 51?2 hours in a compact area of the city surrounded by stores, businesses and apartments. Police had to shut down traffic, evacuate the downtown area and put the St. Elizabeth Seton School on Bridge Street on lockdown, Allen said.
Eisenberg's attorney, public defender Randy Hawkes, and County Attorney Tom Velardi argued sentencing in an attempt to seek a balance between punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation.
Hawkes sought a two-year sentence with a third year in the Academy Program, a comprehensive rehabilitation and probation program that includes curfews, monitoring, drug and alcohol treatment and community service.
Velardi argued for a much stiffer, 31?2- to 7-year state prison sentence to serve as a deterrent. Velardi recommended Brown hand down a maximum sentence because he wanted to send the message to the community that "you will be protected" and give people solace in knowing Eisenberg cannot hurt them because he is in jail.
Eisenberg's three consecutive one-year sentences provide him with the opportunity to avoid state prison, which Hawkes was also seeking.
Velardi read a statement on behalf of Katie McCauley, one of Eisenberg's hostages on Nov. 30. McCauley was unable to read the statement herself due to the harm Eisenberg caused her, Velardi said.
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| Mike Ross/Chief photographer Leeland Eisenberg reads a letter of apology to the hostages, police, residents of Rochester, and the local businesses he affected when he took control of Sen. Hillary Clinton's Rochester office with road flares taped to his body on Nov. 30, 2007. Eisenberg plead guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover on Tuesday. Photo by |
McCauley's statement revealed how her life has changed since the incident. Her confidence and determination have been diminished and she lives a life of hypervigilance, Velardi said. She also has a hard time walking down the streets of Rochester and struggles to watch the news on television, he said.
The only solace McCauley could take from the ordeal is being "glad" her son, who was 7 months old and with her that day, "won't remember" what happened, Velardi said.
When Hawkes asked Eisenberg to describe the events of Nov. 30, 2007, Eisenberg said now it all seems like a movie. He said none of it makes sense to him now, but at the time he thought his television was sending him messages.
He said he had a "movie playing in (his) head seeing (himself)."
Eisenberg also read a statement to the court in which he apologized profusely to both the city and its residents for his misguided actions.
To the campaign workers he held hostage, Eisenberg said he "acknowledged the fear and suffering" he caused, adding he "stands today with a heavy heart," a conscience and a clear mind in front of those who he harmed.
"It may seem meaningless and shallow," he said, "but I apologize from the bottom of my heart and will pay for it every day."
Eisenberg also spoke of the courage the hostages showed that day. He said they tried to console him — one hostage even put a hand on his shoulder while another "expressed empathy" for him.
Velardi said while the hostages did show sympathy for Eisenberg and understood he was not entirely responsible for his actions because of his mental state, follow-up conversations have shown the hostages have come to the realization that they were victims of "domestic terrorism."
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| Mike Ross/Chief photographer County Attorney Thomas Velardi assisted Katie McCauley of Rochester by reading her statement at Leeland Eisenberg's sentencing hearing in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover on Tuesday. Ms. McCualey and her then 7-month-old son, were held hostage by Eisenberg at Sen. Hillary Clinton's headquarters in Rochester on Nov. 30, 2007. |
Eisenberg "used them as pawns in a game they didn't know how to play," Velardi said.
Much of the defense's case rested on the belief that if Eisenberg had been properly medicated to treat his mental issues, the office takeover never would have happened. His attorney pointed to the strides he has made in Strafford County jail over the past 10 months while on medication such as Lexapro, which is used to treat depression and anxiety.
Hawkes said the trial represented "the messy intersection of the mentally ill and the criminal justice system" and the hostage situation was the result of "a guy who needed help and who had run out of options."
In asking the judge to consider alternative sentences, including the Academy Program, Hawkes said alternative forms of punishment are the means to ensure Eisenberg "maintains mental health and sobriety."
State psychologist Albert Drukteinis said the likelihood of "bizarre behavior" is "much, much less" under the monitoring of the Academy Program.
In court, Hawkes asked: "will a state prison sentence act as a real deterrent" or will Eisenberg simply "watch the seasons change" in state prison only to be released to the streets of Rochester?
Velardi said there was no doubt programs such as the Academy Program can "rehabilitate anyone," but rehabilitation should come only after a proper punishment.
Eisenberg has shown the ability to manipulate those around him, Velardi said, adding that not handing down proper punishment could send the message that "you can get a national stage" with acts like Eisenberg's last year.
Brown originally sentenced Eisenberg to two years in the House of Corrections followed by a probationary period that would include the Academy Program but not the 306 days credit for Eisenberg's pretrial confinement.
But after the sentence Velardi approached the bench and questioned whether the judge could ask Eisenberg to waive his pretrial confinement credit.
After a short deliberation, the judge changed the sentence to three consecutive one-year sentences that will include the 306 days pretrial confinement credit.
The three sentences will be followed by a 31?2- to 7-year suspended state prison sentence and 5 years of probation, Velardi said.
After the court adjourned, Velardi expressed his dissatisfaction with the sentence.
"The public demands a little more from the criminal justice system than saying you've done well for the past 10 months," he said.
Velardi admitted to the difficulty that arises when mental health issues are thrust into the justice system, adding police are often the ones who have to deal with those with mental health issues because there is no distinction in the justice system for those with mental health issues.
Despite being upset with the decision, Velardi said Judge Brown is a "very thoughtful man" who only hands down sentences that he "truly believes are the most appropriate."
Contact: jcresta@fosters.com
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