A State Supreme Court Judge in Buffalo has found two young men guilty in the death of 96-year-old Deacon Levi Clayton. Shaquar Pratcher, 18, and Elhajji Elshabazz, 23, were convicted Wednesday of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary.
Clayton died several months after he was found severely beaten inside his Longview Avenue home. The November 2012 break-in was recorded by security cameras outside of Clayton's home.
"I think this crime shocked the conscience of the community because it was the beating death of an elderly citizen in his own home," Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III told WBFO News.
"This is everybody's worst nightmare."
The getaway driver, 20-year-old Jordan McKinnon, and another co-defendent, 19-year-old Justice Feggans, pleaded guilty to burglary charges. They face a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Pratcher and Elshabazz face 15 years-to-life when they are sentenced next month.