Lance C. Leonard, a 49-year-old Massachusetts man, pleaded guilty to the charge of felony coercion in the first degree at Saratoga County Court, Monday, after allegedly threatening to kill a Skidmore College student.
Authorities said that Leonard threatened a Skidmore College female student in her early 20s over phone and texted that he will shoot her and then kill himself last month, after she recently broke off a relationship with him.
The victim's father informed the police when Leonard sent her a text message claiming that he was on his way to Saratoga Springs with the intention of killing her.
As a result of the threat, college officials locked down the campus for 12 hours, March 5.
Leonard was located in New Jersey where he was arrested by the Atlantic City Police Department, March 6, and later extradited to New York State and charged.
Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III said that they will demand a jail term, post-release probationary supervision probation and mental health counseling treatment during Leonard's sentencing hearing, July 8.
Meanwhile, the female victim did not recommend a jail sentence.
If convicted of the crime, he might face a maximum jail sentence of 2 to 7 years. Prosecutors will also seek an order of protection for a period of eight years.
"Threats of violence of this nature occurring in our community must be dealt with swiftly and judiciously," said Murphy. "A plea to the highest charge possible was the only option we would consider due to the fear the defendant instilled in this young woman."
This is not Leonard's first criminal act. Previously he was charged with indecent assault and battery of a person older than 14 years of age, 1985; two years later he was charged with assault and battery with a lethal weapon after apparently firing a shotgun through a window at two women and was arrested five times between February 2008 and May 2009 for failing to register as a sex offender.
