Hostage-taker sentenced in Rochester incident -Manchester (NH) Union Leader

By CLYNTON NAMUO

DOVER – A Somersworth man who took several hostages at Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential headquarters in Rochester last year is likely to spend about two more years in jail.

Leeland Eisenberg, 47, pleaded guilty to seven felonies and a misdemeanor yesterday as part of a deal with prosecutors. He took several hostages using fake explosives last Nov. 30 in a nearly six-hour standoff that ended after he released everyone and surrendered to police.

Eisenberg's sentence--three years in county jail minus the 306 days he has already spent incarcerated--was substantially more lenient than the 3 1/2 to seven years in state prison prosecutors had requested. The sentence reflected a strong consideration on the part of Judge Kenneth Brown to the mitigating circumstances involved in the hostage taking, including Eisenberg's heavy drinking and mental health problems.

Randy Hawkes, Eisenberg's attorney, argued heavily for the county jail sentence during the sentencing hearing in Strafford County Superior Court yesterday. He said the county can and has provided better treatment.

"If he's sent to New Hampshire state prison at this juncture "¦ his recovery will undoubtedly be disrupted," Hawkes said as he offered evidence of Eisenberg's rehabilitation, which included getting his GED and treatment by a psychiatrist.

In a further plea for leniency, Eisenberg took the stand and apologized to those hurt by his crimes.

"I apologize to the city from the bottom of my heart, not because I have to or somebody is telling me to, but because I want to," he said.

Eisenberg also described searching for help for his mental problems and said he went to Clinton's headquarters after seeing one of her campaign ads in which she talks about getting help for someone's medical problems.

"It was like a voice telling me that I needed to do this," he said of going to Clinton's offices on North Main Street in downtown Rochester. "There was no rationality to it. I will surely face a different judge on a different date."

To the hostages, Eisenberg said: "There was nothing any of you did wrong or could have done differently. This was all my fault and my fault alone." As Eisenberg offered the apology, the sole hostage at the hearing, Katie McCauley, of Rochester, wiped tears from her eyes.

Before Eisenberg's statement, McCauley offered one of her own, read by County Attorney Thomas Velardi, which described the trauma she experienced when she and her then 7-month-old son were briefly taken hostage by Eisenberg.

"Ten months later, my wounds are still fresh," Velardi said on her behalf.

"I would like to see Mr. Eisenberg locked away for as long as the law allows."

McCauley was the only one of the hostages to show up at yesterday's hearing. The four other hostages -- Graham Joeck, Katherine Coffee, Morgan Callaghan and Andrew Couture--all now work for the Democratic party and were unable to attend the hearing, Velardi said.

Velardi said two of the former hostages submitted sealed statements to the court expressing their displeasure with Eisenberg.

During the hearing, Velardi called into question how much Eisenberg has been rehabilitated since going to jail, referring to an extensive criminal history that includes a rape conviction in Massachusetts, and said he needed to be punished for his actions.

"The bottom line here is Leeland Eisenberg be held accountable for what he did," Velardi said, adding, "A 10-month stretch in the county jail does not a leader make." Velardi called the hostage taking a "form of domestic terrorism" and said it brought Rochester to a standstill as fear gripped the city and police shut the downtown area.

Noticeably absent from yesterday's hearing were Eisenberg's relatives, including his wife, Lisa Warren, and his stepchildren with her. Hawkes said the couple are going through a divorce and are separated.

Eisenberg pleaded guilty to eight charges yesterday: four counts of kidnapping and one count each criminal threatening and false reports of explosives, all related to the hostage taking incident, as well as one count of felony stalking and a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief related to a domestic incident days before the hostage-taking.

In addition to his jail sentence, Eisenberg received a suspended sentence of 31/2 to seven years in state prison. He will also have to complete five years of probation, about a year of which will be spent in an intensive county monitoring program.