One of the twin brothers accused of burglarizing a South Philadelphia shop pleaded guilty last week, but will spend no time in prison.
Keyontyli Goffney, 27, pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal conspiracy during a Sept. 10 hearing and was sentenced to two days in prison, which he’s already served, and four years’ probation.
Keyontyli’s brother, Taleon, pleaded guilty to the charges against him in July and was sentenced to three-eight years in prison.
Charges against the twins’ mother, Towana, who was accused of serving as a lookout for the pair’s break-in, were dropped last Thursday.
The twins were arrested Feb. 19, 2008, after police, who suspected the Goffneys in several area burglaries and were tailing the brothers, spotted Taleon breaking into the roof of Moon’s Beauty Shop at Ninth Street and Washington Avenue with an ax and a handsaw. Police pursued Taleon, who heisted more than $2,000 from the store’s ATM machine, to Juniper and Wharton streets, where they arrested him. Keyontyli was arrested at the scene.
Both Keyontyli and his brother have testified that Keyontyli served as a lookout while Taleon carried out the actual crime.
Taleon was also charged with burglarizing a convenience store in the Northeast in 2007, for which he is serving an additional four-eight years.
Their arrests made national news after it was revealed that both brothers had appeared in an online gay-porn video.
Assistant District Attorney Carol Keating told the Philadelphia Daily News that Keyontyli’s sentence was significantly lighter because prosecutors did not believe he actually burglarized the building and that he, as opposed to his brother, had a clear criminal record.
“[Keyontyli] had previously been a working member of society up until this point,” Keating said. “But his brother is a true career criminal.”
Before the arrest, Keyontyli, a graduate of Barbizon Modeling School, was an aspiring model and actor and had landed gigs with Nike, Ralph Lauren and DKNY. At the time of his arrest, he was the subject of a seven-page photo spread in LGBT African-American magazine Clik.
Taleon, however, had a lengthy arrest record in New Jersey, including a 2006 incident in which, after being apprehended on drug charges, he evaded police for several days, escaping from a moving police vehicle by smashing open a window with his head and swimming handcuffed through a pond.
As part of the plea deal, Keyontyli’s 2003 Volkswagen Passat, which was used in the crime, was returned to him.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].