Two Philly men sentenced to decades in state prison for murdering a man on his birthday

John Wilson and George Clark were sentenced to prison Friday during a hearing at the Bucks County Justice Center. Read more TYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

by Vinny Vella Published Nov. 14, 2025, 3:09 p.m. ET

Two men who conspired to kill a man as he celebrated his birthday in Bristol Township in July 2016 were sentenced Friday to decades in prison.

John Marquis Wilson, 45, of Frankford, pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy, and was sentenced to 16 to 32 years in state prison for helping lure his childhood friend Herbert Lyals to a planned assassination.

Wilson’s coconspirator, George Javon Clark, 34, was sentenced Friday to 20 to 40 years after a Bucks County jury found him guilty of third-degree murder and related crimes in July.

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