Maple Street homicide.JPG

Police tape covers the door to 322 Maple St. in July after A'Nickalus Hill was fatally shot.

(Jacob Pucci)

Left to right: Jashua J. Williams and Harry E. Shelton

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man who felt his roommate was using an inappropriate slang term was shot to death after complaining, a prosecutor said today.

Jashua Williams, 32, was found guilty today of murder in the July 2015 shooting of his housemate, A'Nickalus Hill, at 320 Maple St. Another man, Harry Shelton, is also accused of participating in the killing.

Williams, the murderer, had been repeatedly using the phrase "deez nuts" in the days before the fatal shooting, Senior Assistant District Attorney Melinda McGunnigle said.

In a police interview, Williams said he heard the term on the Internet or Facebook, and a trial witness said the term was all over the Internet, the prosecutor said.

A'Nickalus G. Hill was fatally shot on July 29, 2015.

Around that time, Internet meme "Deez Nuts" was making headlines as an independent presidential candidate. Deez Nuts, the would-be candidate, was in fact a 15-year-old Iowa farm boy, according to media accounts. But the name made noises in a voter poll, the Washington Post reported.

Hill, the victim, didn't think it was appropriate for Williams to use the phrase repeatedly, McGunnigle said. The 3-year-old child of the killer's girlfriend had picked it up.

Hill complained to someone else that the child's father wouldn't want the child using that term. That person told Williams of Hill's gripe, McGunnigle said.

Williams became increasingly angry at Hill for complaining about "deez nuts," the prosecutor said. After driving around for awhile, he returned to the house and got Hill out of his bedroom.

After a confrontation in the living room, Hill was shot to death, McGunnigle said. The victim's three children were in another room when their father was shot to death.

Williams was found guilty today after a three-day trial. The other man with him, Shelton, is facing trial next month on a murder charge. It's not clear who fired the fatal shot, but McGunnigle said both can be charged with murder under law.

Williams had opted for a non-jury trial, so County Court Judge Anthony Aloi read the verdict this morning. Williams faces 25 years to life in prison when sentenced.