White Supremacist Found Guilty Of Plotting Murder: Officials

JESSUP, MD — A jury found a white supremacist gang leader guilty on all charges of orchestrating the murder of a rival in an Anne Arundel County prison, officials announced Monday. Authorities identified the accused man as 52-year-old Joseph Leissler. An incident report noted the jury convicted Leissler on charges of:

• First-degree murder
• Supervising a criminal gang
• Participating in a criminal gang resulting in death
• Participating in a criminal gang
• Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder

Prosecutors accused Leissler of leading the Aryan Brotherhood and directing his underlings to kill 43-year-old John O’Sullivan, a ranking member of opposition gang Dead Man Incorporated. The murder was payback for a gang-related assault at another prison that did not involve any of the parties, officials added.

"While the defendant did not wield a knife to kill the victim, he used his authority over fellow members to carry out this attack," Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in the press release. "I continue to send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of John O’Sullivan for their loss."

The write-up explained the murder happened on Aug. 14, 2016 at the Jessup Correctional Institute. O’Sullivan was returning to his cell in Building F after a recreation break to fetch his shower materials when three other inmates attacked him with homemade metal knives, authorities informed.

Despite intervention from correctional officers, the prosecution indicated O'Sullivan died on the scene. The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death was blood loss from 54 stabbing and cutting wounds, the report continued.

The prosecution listed the suspects as Vincent Bunner, Calvin Lockner and Brian Hare.

Bunner and Lockner were tried and convicted on second-degree murder charges last year, officials detailed. They also divulged that a judge sentenced the partners to a maximum of 30 years after their current prison time.

Authorities disclosed Hare pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, testified against his co-defendants and awaits his sentencing.

The release shared that a judge will sentence Leissler on Nov. 2. Prosecutors stated he faces two possible life sentences, including up to a life sentence without parole.

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RELATED:

• 'White Supremacists' Sentenced In Prison Murder Case: Report

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