CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Ohio Supreme Court made a ruling Friday in connection with the murder conviction of the driver that killed Cleveland Firefighter Johnny Tetrick.

According to the Ohio Supreme Court, the trial court had sufficient evidence to convict Leander Bissell of felony murder for speeding through an accident scene.

Cleveland Firefighter Tetrick, 51, was killed on Nov. 19, 2022.

Bissell struck Firefighter Tetrick on I-90 East near Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and then fled the scene. Bissell was arrested later that evening.

Firefighter Tetrick was assisting with a rollover crash, when he was struck. He was pronounced dead at University Hospitals.

In July 2023, Bissell had a bench trial in front of Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick and was found guilty on all charges, including, murder.

In August 2023, Bissell was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 16 years.

In November 2024, the Eighth District Court of Appeals overturned the murder conviction, finding the State failed to prove that Bissell acted “knowingly.”

The court of appeals found Bissell guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which would impose a sentence of only up to 11 years.

Advertisement

The state then appealed that decision to the Ohio Supreme Court.

“This is a victory for Firefighter Tetrick’s family and Ohio’s first responders. Firefighter Tetrick died while serving the public after Leander Bissell sped through a clearly marked accident scene, traversed the berm striking Tetrick, and fled. As the Ohio Supreme Court states, ‘The Eighth District’s reasoning is wrong.’ Thankfully, their decision today corrected that wrong,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley.

Thousands of people attended Firefighter Tetrick’s funeral on Nov. 26, 2022 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Members of the community are invited to learn about child safety

[Cleveland, OH]  FBI Cleveland, together with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the Cleveland Division of Police, Bellefaire JCB, and the Canopy Child Advocacy Center, will staff a community table to spread awareness of missing children in our area, and share child safety information with the community.

Who                      FBI Cleveland, Law Enforcement and Community Partners 

What                     National Missing Children’s Day

When                    Thursday, May 28, 2026

Where                  Westown Square (10820 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland)

Time                     3:00pm – 5:00pm

While National Missing Children’s Day was May 25, the FBI wants to help the public understand that every day, children either go missing or remain missing and someone either knows something about a disappearance or knows of someone who has information to bring that child home. It is important to know that the FBI will look at all tips and leads and people who submit information can do so anonymously.

FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Joshua DelManzo

“When the FBI receives a call that a child has gone missing, we know the clock is ticking. Our mission is to identify, locate, and recover the child victim. That is why our community, business, and law enforcement partnerships are a vital component to the work we do.  Of those, the partnership with the community is paramount in helping us locate missing children. Somebody knows something, and it is important to step-up and share information; more so, know that one’s identity can remain anonymous when sharing tips or leads, no matter how old the information is or how insignificant you think your information might be.”

During the event, the FBI and its partners will highlight posters of the many children who are still missing and provide important safety information for parents, guardians, and caregivers to keep children safe. The FBI Evidence Response Team truck will be on site to show some of the tools used in aiding a child recovery and law enforcement partners will have child safe kits and activity books to share. 

Many don’t realize that a child can be “missing” when the child has run away, is lost, or otherwise abducted– not only by a stranger, but also by a family member, for example, a non-custodial parent or in some cases, a family member who poses an extreme risk to the child, such as a registered sex offender.

How the FBI is involved
The FBI was given jurisdiction under the “Lindbergh Law” in 1932 to immediately  investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child of “tender age”—usually 12 or younger. However, the FBI goes one step further:

• When any child is missing under the age of 18, the FBI can become involved as an assisting agency to the local police department.

•  There does not have to be a ransom demand

• The child does NOT have to cross the state lines or be missing for 24 hours.
Research indicates the quicker the reporting of the mysterious disappearance or abduction the more likely the successful outcome in returning the child unharmed.

To report a missing child: 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children                      1-800-THE LOST
FBI                                                                                                                         1-800-CALL FBI(1-800-225-5324)

After a disappointing conference finals loss to the New York Knicks, the Cavaliers must brace for an important offseason.

The epicenter of every offseason revolves around the salary cap, and the Cavaliers are in the most unique salary situation in the entire NBA.

The second apron

Let’s take a look into the possibility of getting back below the second apron before the start of the new NBA tax season.

For those that are new to the salary tracker, the most important tidbit is that the NBA tax year starts on July 1. This means that whatever the team’s apron level is on July 1 will be locked in for the entire season.

Because of this, the Cavaliers must be timely with their offseason decisions and cap trims. Unfortunately, this puts the Cavaliers in a tricky situation with trade deadline acquisition James Harden.

Since the deadline for James Harden to accept or decline his player option isn’t until June 30th, there exists a reality where Harden is dissatisfied with the extension the Cavaliers offer and waits until the last minute to decide on his player option.

Harden put the Brooklyn Nets in a similar situation by declining to extend with them after promising an extension, which ultimately led to his departure via trade shortly thereafter.

The Cavaliers also have to accept or decline Craig Porter Jr.’s team option of $2.4 million ahead of June 30, expect that option to be picked up eventually.

Uncertainty surrounding such a large contract

Until the Harden situation is resolved, the Cavaliers cap situation remains cloudy with endless possibilities; ranging from a Harden extension and a retool, to Harden’s potential departure which would provide fresh cap space for a new maximum contract player.

James could also accept his player option if he doesn’t think he can get paid elsewhere, this would be the worst case scenario for the Cavs as it would leave them only $200,000 over the second apron. 

If Harden accepts his player option, it’s very likely he’ll gauge the market first, leaving the Cavaliers with potentially hours to clear the remaining $200,000 needed to get under the second apron ahead of July 1. If Harden does stick the Cavs with this scenario, it’s likely a cheap player(Tomlin or Proctor) could be quickly waived or traded for cap relief.

The Cavaliers could also wait to pick up Craig Porter’s team option, and if Harden accepts his player option, they could decline CPJ to get back under the second apron as well.

The Cavaliers could also embrace a second straight season spending above the second apron if Harden fails to give the front office enough time to clear cap space.

These are just three possible James Harden scenarios, all of which have an extreme impact on how the Cavaliers handle their salary cap this offseason. Until Harden makes a decision, Cavs fans will have to sit back and wait as there isn’t much the team can do until his situation is resolved.