NJ Prisoner Who Killed Fellow Inmate A Day Before Victim's Release Date Gets Sentenced

LEESBURG, NJ — A man was sentenced Monday to life behind bars for killing a fellow inmate at a state prison in South Jersey a day before the victim was set to be released.

Bruce Duette beat and strangled Martin Sanchez to death in Nov. 21, 2022 at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

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Sanchez, 41, was unresponsive in his cell that day, with apparent trauma to his head and face. He was pronounced dead at the facility.

The victim had been scheduled to leave prison a day later.

Duette's DNA was found inside a sneaker, sock and under the victim's fingernails, prosecutors said.

After the incident, Duette was transferred to New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

Duette, now 45, has been behind bars since 2006 and would've become parole-eligible in 2030.

He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for first-degree conspiracy to commit murder for planning to commit a drive-by shooting with other Gangster Killer Bloods gang members in 2005.

Duette also recently finished a 15-year sentence for aggravated manslaughter that began in 2009. Additionally, he stabbed another Bayside State Prison in in the neck five years ago and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.

In May, a Cumberland County jury found Duette guilty of first-degree murder.

Duette's life sentence will kick in once his prior sentences end on March 8, 2030. Although the sentencing includes parole eligibility, it's unlikely to matter since it won't kick in until the 2090s.