{"id":587,"date":"2026-05-27T07:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T07:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=587"},"modified":"2026-05-27T07:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T07:36:26","slug":"rodeo-murder-suspect-who-claimed-she-shot-herself-sentenced-to-21-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=587","title":{"rendered":"Rodeo murder suspect who claimed ‘she shot herself’ sentenced to 21 years in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MARTINEZ \u2014 A Rodeo man who allegedly claimed that his girlfriend had \u201cshot herself\u201d has pleaded no contest to killing her, and been sentenced to 21 years and eight months for it, court records show.<\/p>\n

Read more One injured in possible road-rage shooting outside Valley Fair<\/a><\/p>\n

Joseph Sullivan, 21, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and threatening police, and was driven to prison on March 17, court records show. He is incarcerated at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, according to prison records.<\/p>\n

Sullivan was originally charged with murder in the Feb. 20, 2024 shooting death of 20-year-old Leeasia Futch, but in June 2025, prosecutors and Sullivan\u2019s defense attorneys told a judge they\u2019d agreed to a plea deal. The murder count was dropped after Sullivan entered his no contest plea, and he was not sentenced until late February, court records show.<\/p>\n

Court filings and police reports tell a story of increasingly disturbing domestic violence by Sullivan against Futch, as well as her documented attempts to end the relationship. On July 6, 2023, she petitioned the court for a restraining order against Sullivan, who she said had \u201cslapped me, strangled me, bit me, hit me, broke my phone, used profanity calling me names and would not let me go home.\u201d But weeks later she failed to follow up on the petition and it was dropped.<\/p>\n

Three days before the petition was filed, Contra Costa Sheriff\u2019s deputies responded to a domestic violence call in Rodeo, where they observed cuts, scratches, and bruises on Futch, and Sullivan\u2019s presence at the scene. He told police he was trying to stop her from hurting herself, and was never charged in connection with that incident, according to court records.<\/p>\n

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Police say there was another documented incident of alleged domestic violence in 2023, when Sullivan and Futch went on a trip to Lake Comanche with members of Futch\u2019s family. They reported seeing him slap her at a campsite by the lake, and said he would have struck her again if multiple family members hadn\u2019t physically intervened. On the ride home, Futch allegedly pulled Sullivan\u2019s hair during an argument and he hit her \u201cat least five times,\u201d then prevented her from opening a car door, investigators wrote in a police report.<\/p>\n

Sullivan killed Futch inside his home on the 1200 block of Trigger Road in Rodeo, according to police. Sullivan\u2019s mother called police around 10:40 p.m., reporting that when she got home that night, her son greeted her with the haunting words, \u201cshe shot herself,\u201d referring to Futch, according to court records.<\/p>\n

But when police reviewed security camera footage, they realized a camera\u2019s microphone had captured the argument and shooting, which occurred about 80 minutes before the 911 call. In it, Sullivan can be heard yelling, repeatedly, for Futch to \u201cget the f\u2014 up,\u201d as Futch cries and says, \u201ccan you stop,\u201d according to authorities. Then a gunshot is heard.<\/p>\n

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A Glock pistol was found behind the residence. Sullivan faced 50 years to life if convicted as originally charged. His trial was set to begin around the same time he agreed to the plea deal, court records show.<\/p>\n

Read more Thunder top Spurs 127-114 in Game 5, move a win away from a return to NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joseph Sullivan, 21, had previously claimed he was trying to stop his girlfriend from hurting herself when police responded to a domestic violence call months before the homicide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRodeo murder suspect who claimed ‘she shot herself’ sentenced to 21 years in prison - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=587\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rodeo murder suspect who claimed ‘she shot herself’ sentenced to 21 years in prison - 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