Bristol Man Gets 2 Life Sentences In Prom-Night Shootings

BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, PA — A Bristol Township man will be spending the rest of his life in prison for the shooting deaths of two 19-year-olds.

Joseph Williams, 19, was sentenced Friday to two consecutive terms of life in prison for killing Zyisean McDuffie and Tommy Ballard in the May 4, 2018 shootings outside a home on Elmhurst Drive.

He has no possibility of parole, according to the sentence.

Earlier this year, a Bucks County jury found Willims guilty of first-degree murder in both killings.

In court, McDuffie's mother, Jerita Smith, said her son had plans of starting a flatbed truck service. Ballard, meanwhile, dreamed of graduating high school and going on to work for his father, according to testimony.

"Mr. Williams, in a brief moment, stripped both of them of their dreams," said Deputy District Attorney Antonetta Stancu.

The jury also convicted Williams of attempting to kill a third man during the shooting, recklessly endangering others, tampering with evidence and more. Judge Alan M. Rubenstein sentenced Williams to a concurrent term of 18-36 years in prison on those charges.

Stancu and Deputy District Attorney Thomas Gannon argued that Williams has shown no remorse for his crimes, which happened in the presence of children. Many of those outside on Elmhurst Drive that night were teens dressed for and getting ready to attend prom.

"Enough is enough," Stancu said. "The community in Bucks County, the community in Bristol Township needs to know that all lives are valued. We will not stand for any lives being taken away."

Williams chose not to speak at his sentencing hearing.

A second shooter, 49-year-old Gary Goddard, faces sentencing later this year for separate crimes committed during the same incident, including the attempted murder of McDuffie and the discharge of a gun into an occupied home.