Two men were sentenced on Friday, March 14, 2025, to several decades in prison for the December 2022 killing of Clifton “CJ” Burgess-Williams Jr. in Morrisville.

Breon D. McRae, 34, of Morrisville, and Pacqi S. Lassiter, 29, of Trenton, N.J., were each sentenced to 40 to 80 years in state prison for conspiring to kill Burgess-Williams, 26, of Morrisville, on Dec. 22, 2022.

Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller also sentenced McRae to an additional 4 ½ to 9 years in prison for witness intimidation, with the sentence running consecutively for a total sentence of 44 ½ to 89 years in state prison. McRae and Lassiter were also ordered to have no contact with the family of the victim.  

Both men were convicted by a Bucks County jury in February following a two-week trial.

Burgess-Williams was sitting in a parked vehicle at his home with his sister, brother, and friend when eight shots were fired, striking him and endangering the others in the car. Burgess-Williams was the brother of McRae’s former girlfriend.

The investigation found that Burgess-Williams was killed for attempting to defend his sister, who days earlier was beaten and strangled by McRae. This led to confrontation between the two men that ended with McRae assaulting Burgess-Williams.

After a second verbal confrontation at McRae’s home on Dec. 22, 2022, McRae called Lassiter, his cousin, who drove from Trenton who picked up McRae. The two men then drove to the home of Burgess-Williams on Lenora Avenue.

Shots rang out at 8:39 p.m. as Burgess-Williams was in the parked car with his sister, brother and friend. Burgess-Williams was shot and transported to the hospital, where he later died.

Just before the shooting, Burgess-Williams spotted the gunman and yelled for everyone to duck, likely saving everyone else’s lives. Judge Liller told the family of Burgess-Williams, who were seated in court, that he was a hero for saving the lives of the other people in the car. 

Deputy District Attorney Chad R. Kovack told Judge Liller that McRae has never once taken accountability for his actions or shown remorse for the killing.

During the lengthy trial, prosecutors presented testimony from more than 20 witnesses, law enforcement and forensic experts and introduced hundreds of pieces of evidence that included physical evidence, video surveillance and data from cellphones and cell towers.

Jurors found McRae and Lassiter guilty of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit possession of an instrument of crime, conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment and three counts of reckless endangerment. McRae was also convicted of terroristic threats and simple assault. In two other cases, McRae was convicted of witness intimidation, strangulation, simple assault and harassment.

On Friday, McRae and Lassiter were also sentenced to one to two years for each of the three reckless endangerment charges related to the other victims in the car, and McRae was also sentenced to three to six years in state prison for the strangulation case. Each of those sentences were ordered to run concurrently to the sentence on the murder and conspiracy charges.

The investigation into this case was led by Bucks County Detectives Timothy Johnson and Dante Montella, with the assistance of the Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Chad R. Kovack and former Deputy District Attorney Megan K. Stricker.

Media Contact: Manuel Gamiz Jr., 215.348.6298, mgamiz@buckscounty.org