'White Supremacists' Sentenced In Prison Murder Case: Report

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY — Two Anne Arundel County prisoners were each sentenced last week to 30 more years in jail after they were found guilty of murdering a fellow inmate. Both men, as well as a third accused prisoner who awaits sentencing, were members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a "white supremacist gang," the prosecution says.

The state's attorney claims the trio killed John O'Sullivan on Aug. 14, 2016 in Building F of the Jessup Correctional Institution. An autopsy found that O'Sullivan died from blood loss out of his 54 stab and cut wounds, according to prosecutors. He was 43.

The prosecution says O'Sullivan's murder was retribution for a gang-related assault at a different prison. None of the parties were involved in the preceding attack, according to Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

"John O’Sullivan had tried to make peace with the rival gang members," Leitess said in a Monday press release. "In return, they savagely attacked him in retribution for an incident between members of their opposing gangs and made him pay with his life."

The sentenced men are Vincent Bunner, 27, and Calvin Lockner, 35. Both inmates were charged with second-degree murder, gang association resulting in a death, participation in a criminal gang and conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. The first three counts are felonies, and the last is a misdemeanor.

Both Bunner and Lockner pled not guilty to all charges. The allegations of gang association resulting in a death and association with a criminal gang were dropped in both cases. The two men were found guilty of second-degree murder, but the jury declared the duo not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.

Judge Stacy McCormack handed Bunner and Lockner the maximum sentences for second-degree murder on Sept. 21. The jury returned its verdicts on April 2.

"The defendants’ savagely murdered Mr. O’Sullivan and will likely be spending the rest of their lives in jail," Leitess said. "Both men have demonstrated during the course of their lives their extreme dangerousness to the community"

The third accused man, Brian Hare, also faces four charges, three of which are the same as Bunner and Lockner. Hare, however, is up against a count of first-degree murder instead of second-degree murder.

First-degree murder is the more serious charge, as it involves the planned killing of a victim. Second-degree murder, on the other hand, is not preplanned.

Hare, 32, pled guilty to the first-degree offense and testified against Bunner and Lockner. His court filings do not list pleas for the other three charges. Hare has not yet been sentenced, and his court documents offer no indication of when he will be.

The prosecution says the murder happened as the inmates returned from a recreation break. As O'Sullivan entered his cell to gather his shower supplies, the three men attacked him with homemade metal knives, Leitess alleges.

Though the state's attorney says only Bunner, Lockner and Hare stabbed O'Sullivan, a fourth man also faces charges related to the murder. The final party, 51-year-old Joseph Leissler, is up against the same charges as Hare plus one count of organizing a gang.

Leitess' release does not accuse Leissler of participating in the Aryan Brotherhood gang. His court documents do not yet list pleas to the charges.

Leissler's trial has been postponed 5 times. It is currently scheduled to start on May 5, 2021.

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