Fort Bragg soldier gets jail time for shooting to police, firefighters

More than three years after a Fort Bragg solider fired at police and firefighters, the convicted Fayetteville man was sentenced to more than a year of jail time Thursday afternoon.

Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer was sentenced to 10 to 18 years of active jail time, and 36 months of probation following the active sentencing by Superior Court Judge, Jim Ammons.

Eisenhauer, who served two tours in Afghanistan, was charged after shooting at authorities during a four-hour standoff with police in January of 2012. He was shot four times, while no police or firefighters were seriously injured.

On Feb. 27, Eisenhauer pleaded guilty to 15 counts of assault on law officers and government officials, in exchange for getting 15 counts of attempted murder dismissed.

Dawn Eisenhauer, Joshua’s mother, traveled from Afghanistan to attend the court hearing. She works in Afghanistan as a civilian employee.

She told court officials that her son “changed dramatically” during his combat operations while deployed in Afghanistan.

Prior to the sentencing, retired Colonel John Orendorff suggested that Eisenhauer be given probation and parole, including time at either the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Bragg, or Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Orendorff is responsible for writing policies and procedures for all soldiers that return from Iraq and Afghanistan, making sure they get proper treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

He apologized to Fayetteville police officers and fire fighters who were in the courtroom. He said that the Army failed Sgt. Eisenhauer by not providing him the proper treatment to battle his PTSD.