CLEVELAND — Leander Bissell — the driver accused of killing Cleveland firefighter Johnny Tetrick in a deadly hit-and-run incident last year — has been found guilty on all counts against him.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick revealed his verdict in the bench trial Thursday morning.
When he was first assigned the case, Judge McCormick said, “my initial reaction was that perhaps it was over indicted.” But after a day and a half of testimony, he said he was convinced “this original impression was wrong.”
Judge McCormick concluded Bissell should have foreseen the risk on that night in November when he skirted police and sped through the scene of an accident in a closed lane where he hit Tetrick at an estimated 49 miles per hour.
“For those reasons I’m going to find the defendant guilty of all counts in the indictment,” he said.
Bissell, who will be sentenced at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 9, has been convicted of the following charges:
- Murder
- Felonious assault
- Involuntary manslaughter
- Failure to comply
- Aggravated vehicular homicide
- Failure to stop after an accident
The reaction in the courtroom became apparent when McCormick closed the hearing and Tetrick’s family and fellow firefighters hugged and cried in the gallery.
“It was rough, but I think being together got us through,” Falon Tetrick said after the verdict was read.
Falon and her two younger sisters, Regan and Eden, said the firefighters at their dad’s Fire Station 22 have become their family, responding to their needs and supporting them during the last eight months since their father’s loss.
“I think my dad’s life speaks for itself if you’ve been following this at all. We felt every person that has been on our side throughout this,” Falon said.
“He would drop us off at school and he would ask us, who comes first? God. And he would say who comes next? Others. And then who? Yourself. And so I think that speaks to every aspect of his life and what he poured into us and those guys back there.”
“It’s a tragedy that he passed away, but he died doing what he loved and that was serving the public and helping the people of the city of Cleveland,” said Carl Mazzone, assistant Cuyahoga County prosecuting attorney, who represented the state during the trial.
Prosecutors say video of Bissell cutting through the scene convinced them his actions "rose to the level of murder."
“Perhaps [McCormick] thought this was stretch, but when you see that video, you see an individual who makes a conscious choice,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley.
“It’s just a tragedy that was clearly preventable.”
And a tragedy that changed three sisters’ lives. But their father’s legacy lives on, including in the lessons he taught his daughters.
“I think that the biggest thing my father taught me was how important forgiveness is and how important it is to just share the love of God no matter how hard that is. And I think that, despite what [Bissell’s] done, he’s still a human being and he deserves respect,” Eden said.
“I want him to understand that despite what he did and how much I hate the result of those actions I don’t hate him. I don’t have any hatred in my heart for him.”
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley issued the following statement after Thursday's verdict:
"The death of Firefighter Tetrick was not an accident. After initially stopping, Leander Bissell decided to swerve around safety vehicles and speed through an accident scene at 50 mph. That decision cost a dedicated father and Firefighter his life. I hope the verdict today can help his family and our community begin to heal."
The trial, which started Monday, came eight months after Bissell was accused of leaving the scene where Tetrick was struck along I-90 East near MLK on Nov. 19 as he was working at the scene of a crash.
Police say they later found a vehicle matching the description involved in the incident and identified its owner as Bissell. A police report indicates an officer determined that Bissell "was intoxicated due to a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person, as well as bloodshot eyes and slurred speech."
The state rested its case by noon Tuesday, arguing Leander Bissell knowingly drove recklessly through the scene. Bissell's defense argued he was driving negligently -- not recklessly -- and did not intend to harm anyone.
“We argue that Mr. Bissell did not perceive he was driving too fast in that zone and he did not know that someone was going to be walking out into the road from the right hand side,” the defense concluded.
Tetrick's funeral services included a ceremony at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.