A Bensalem man has admitted to shooting and killing his roommate during a dispute inside their apartment.

Gregory Hylton, 41, pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime stemming from the fatal March 9 shooting of Sharif Simpson. Hylton also pleaded guilty to possession of just less than one pound of marijuana found in his bedroom during a search after the shooting.

Despite efforts to save his life, 25-year-old Simpson succumbed to injuries from a single gunshot wound to the chest that pierced both his heart and lung. Results of a medical examination showed the weapon was fired at extremely close range.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Hylton claimed early on – first on a 911 call reporting the shooting and later in statements to police – that he and Simpson had been messing around and the younger man was accidentally shot with Hylton’s 9mm handgun.

However, evidence of a struggle at the scene, as well as abrasions to the chest of the victim consistent with being struck by the front of a gun, cast doubt on Hylton’s account.

In a subsequent statement, the complaint says, Hylton told detectives he and Simpson had been arguing about a mess left in the apartment when Hylton pushed Simpson backward and struck the man with the gun several times before the weapon discharged. Hylton insisted he did not recall pulling the trigger and said the weapon’s safety was engaged.

Deputy District Attorney Robert D. James, while reciting facts of the case in court Friday, produced the murder weapon to demonstrate the safety’s operation to Judge Diane E. Gibbons.

After accepting Hylton’s plea, Judge Gibbons ordered the man’s sentencing deferred for a pre-sentence investigation. He remains held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility.

The case was investigated by Bensalem Township Police Department with the assistance of Bucks County Detectives and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Robert D. James.

Contact: James O’Malley, 215.348.6298, jtomalley@buckscounty.org