Concord Murder Suspect To Plead Guilty To Killing Half-Brother; Mom Reacts To Decision

CONCORD, NH — A career criminal is expected to admit to killing his half-brother in January 2024, according to paperwork filed with the Merrimack County Superior Court.

On May 20, attorneys for Jesse James Sullivan, 33, of Pittsfield, filed paperwork on his behalf to change his plea on second-degree murder, felon in possession, falsifying physical evidence, and reckless conduct charges in the Jan. 16, 2024, death of Zachary Sullivan, 19, on Garvins Falls Road. As part of the plea deal, Jesse Sullivan will spend 53 years to life on the murder charge, while three other charges will carry three-and-a-half to seven-year sentences, and stand committed. The other charges Jesse Sullivan faces will be nolle prossed.

Jesse Sullivan is expected to be in court for the plea on June 18.

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Around 7:15 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2024, Concord police and fire and rescue teams were sent to the area of Manchester Street and Garvins Falls Road for a report of a shooting.

The shooting reportedly occurred near a home not far from the Soucook River and the town line with Pembroke but a person transporting the victim stopped outside the Dunkin’ Donuts. At the time of the shooting, there was a major snowstorm, making travel difficult. New Hampshire State Police troopers as well as county sheriff’s deputies, Allenstown, and Chichester police, also arrived to help.

A white man with neck and facial tattoos was the suspect in the case police spent several hours searching the immediate area for him. The suspect ditched the firearm involved while he fled.

One of the other witnesses in the case was another family member who identified the victim as Zachary Sullivan and the suspect as Jesse Sullivan, his half-brother. Dispatchers said at the time the victim was in and out of consciousness before being taken to Concord Hospital.

Around 2 a.m. on Jan. 17, Jesse Sullivan was taken into custody by the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit, the city’s “SWAT” team, after tracking him down to a home near the shooting, where an assault incident occurred months before.

Police were also sent to a home on Airport Road where a bullet was fired through a wall of a house not long before the shooting on Garvins Falls Road.

Jesse James Sullivan is a felon due to an escape charge conviction when he was in his teens. His criminal record dates back nearly two decades, including weapon and assault charges. He was also reportedly a member of the Brothers of White Warriors (BOWW), a white supremacist gang in the Granite State.

The change in his plea comes about five weeks after Jesse Sullivan’s counsel sought to question another relative who was a witness to the killing and a state witness retaining counsel. The attorney general’s office challenged the motion. Other documents connected to the case are still sealed.

Jesse Sullivan and others, including Breggan R. Moreau, 31, of Rochester, were reportedly involved in an assault incident at a home near the shooting in late November 2023.

According to a complainant in the case, Jesse Sullivan showed up at the home and “asked for a hug,” but when he was told to leave, he turned violent. He and the others reportedly attacked a man at the house and stomped on him when he was down.

“(She) could not provide any explanation as to why Jesse and the two others came to her residence,” the detective wrote in an affidavit. “(She) believed that it was an unprovoked incident.”

The men then fled the area. The victim had “several minor injuries,” including scrapes and abrasions, a bump on his forehead, a swollen upper lip, and cuts on both lips, the report said. He also had a scrape and bruise on his upper left arm. The detective noted the victim reiterated all three men had “collectively assaulted him.”

Moreau pleaded not guilty to simple assault and criminal trespass charges in early March. His trial is scheduled for June 10 in Concord District Court.

Zachary’s Mom Reacts To The Plea Deal

Audrey Moran, Zachary Sullivan’s mother, said the entire ordeal had been an “awful nightmare,” but her prayers were answered: a plea deal with a long sentence.

“Nothing will ever bring my baby back,” she said, “but knowing that the monster who cold-heartedly killed my son will spend the rest of his life behind bars feels like the beginning of some healing for our family.”

Her son, she said, “had his whole life ahead of him” and was making “huge milestones owning his own business.” She said Zachary Sullivan would give the shirt off his back to anyone and, on several occasions, would return home coatless or shirtless after going to the store because someone else needed his. In one instance, a co-worker who had cancer and was starting treatments wanted a PlayStation. Knowing the sickness would be clearing his schedule a lot, he made sure the man had a console and everything to go with it.

“Zack loved to brighten other people’s lives,” Moran said. “He would make care packages and hand them out to the homeless. He refused to give them money because he didn’t want them using it for drugs, but instead, would be the one to pack up all the leftovers and hand out warm plates … this world needed an angel like Zack. He will forever be missed by our family.”

A GoFundMe effort for Zachary Sullivan’s family raised more than $10,000 in donations. Family members and supporters recently held a candlelight vigil in his honor.

Jesse Sullivan’s Life Of Crime

Jesse Sullivan’s criminal history dates back more than 15 years to June 2008, when he was 17 and arrested for a felony escape in Manchester. He pleaded guilty to the charge in July 2009 and two months later, was accused of a probation violation.

Jesse Sullivan was charged with riot, carrying a weapon, carrying a weapon without a license, acts prohibited, and two reckless conduct charges in Concord in August 2009. Four months later, the riot charge was nolle prossed while one of the weapon charges was dropped in February 2010. Jesse Sullivan pleaded guilty to the other charges in February 2010.

In April 2010, he was arrested on two assault by a prisoner charges and pleaded guilty to the charges six months later.

In March 2013, Jesse Sullivan was charged with two felony assault by prisoner; assault by inmate counts. He pleaded guilty to both charges about a year later.

Jesse Sullivan was released from prison later and in December 2020, was arrested on a felony hand guns felon, gun application and driving after revocation or suspension charges, due to a driving under the influence conviction, in Berlin. He pleaded guilty to the gun application in January 2021, and was sentenced to four years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of two years, and 34 days of credit for time served.

In March 2021, he was arrested again on first-degree assault-attempt and three assault by prisoner-simple assault charges connected to an incident in Stewartstown in December 2020. In November 2021, he pleaded guilty to one prison assault and the attempted first-degree assault charge. He was sentenced to three years in prison, an 18-month mandatory minimum, and two years in prison, a mandatory minimum of one year, all suspended for five years.

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