Rockefeller freed, ordered to report to drug rehab site

LITTLE ROCK — Louis Henry Rockefeller, son of the late Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, was released from custody Wednesday after a pretrial detention hearing in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe.

Rockefeller, 24, of Little Rock had been in jail since his arrest Dec. 10 on a felony transfer of a machine gun charge. He was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month and charged with seven counts of transferring firearms equipped to fire like a machine gun, as well as parts designed to convert a weapon into a machine gun. The transfers reportedly occurred between June 5 and Oct. 29 of this year.

He pleaded not guilty Friday before Volpe.

As a condition of his release, Rockefeller was ordered to seek substance abuse counseling at an inpatient setting. His attorney, Blake Hendrix of Little Rock, argued in favor of sending Rockefeller to Palmetto Addiction Recovery Center, a treatment center in Rayville, La., recommended by J.G. Regnier, a private practice counselor who said he has been treating Rockefeller for the past two years.

Regnier told Volpe the regimen at Palmetto could be as long as 128 days, versus about 30 days at a similar facility, Freedom House in Russellville.

Regnier said Rockefeller has a history of substance abuse and had been through outpatient, inpatient and individual counseling. He told Volpe his recommendation of Palmetto wasn’t an attempt to help Rockefeller avoid consequences for his actions, but to get him the help he needs.

“I’m trying to get specialized care for him, not special treatment,” he said, adding Palmetto wasn’t Rockefeller’s choice. “He looked at Palmetto and didn’t want to be there.”

“What kind of place is it?” Volpe asked.

“It’s not like he’ll be living in the ghetto, but he’ll share a room with somebody,” Regnier said. “It’s a mile to the nearest gate, and seven or so miles south of the middle of nowhere.”

Regnier said the treatment at Freedom House is centered on a 28-day inpatient program followed by a chemical-free residential program of an indeterminate length of time, but he said he preferred to send patients who could afford it to facilities in other states.

“If they can afford it, I like to send them out of state because they get better care out of state,” he said, noting besides substance abuse, Rockefeller also suffered from attention deficit disorder and had anxiety issues.

“They’ve handled federal prisoners before,” he said of Palmetto. “I think they check all the boxes.”

Volpe agreed to release Rockefeller into the custody of his mother, Lisenne Rockefeller, who was in the courtroom, for Wednesday night on the condition he report to Freedom House in Russellville by 1 p.m. Thursday.

“The bottom line is that we need Mr. Rockefeller to get the treatment he needs, and I’m satisfied he can get that treatment at Freedom House,” Volpe said.