Oldest Chester homicide resolved; brothers plead guilty to reduced charges in 2009 killing

The oldest unresolved homicide case in Chester County courts is over, eight years after the victim died.

Brothers Antonio Heath and Theodore Heath pleaded guilty this week to reduced charges. Both had been charged with murder in the 2009 shooting death of Demarkis Clifton.

Clifton, 24, was shot once in September 2009 after an argument near a store in Chester turned violent.

Antonio Heath, 27, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of Clifton, said Candice Lively, 6th Circuit Deputy Solicitor.

Theodore Heath, 26, was sentenced to time served, after pleading guilty to misprison of a felony for failing to report a crime. Theodore Heath spent more than a year in the Chester County jail before being released on bond. Both brothers were arrested soon after Clifton was killed.

Clifton was shot by Antonio Heath after an initial argument between other parties, Lively said.

Clifton was not involved in the initial confrontation between groups of Chester men. He had left the scene of the initial incident, where shots were fired, Lively said.

The killing of Clifton was the oldest pending homicide in Chester County, Lively said. The guilty pleas came in a hearing in Lancaster before the start of a trial set for later this month.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 8:50 AM with the headline "Oldest Chester homicide resolved; brothers plead guilty to reduced charges in 2009 killing."