California Man Found Guilty In Jealousy-Fueled 2015 Nassau Murder

A California man was convicted Tuesday of murdering a man in Valley Stream just an hour after he got off a cross-country flight in 2015.

Deon Ewers, 51, was found guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is due back in court on May 5 and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

“This defendant went to his estranged wife’s home, shot her boyfriend five times in a fit of rage and killed the 34-year-old man as he laid in bed,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “Deon Ewers claimed that the killing was in self-defense, but jurors rejected that argument and now Ewers faces life in prison for killing an innocent man.”

The trial lasted about two weeks, and the jury deliberated for only a few hours before bringing back the verdict.

Early in the morning of Nov. 6, 2015, Ewers flew into New York from California. Shortly after his arrival, at about 6:50 a.m., he visited the home of his estranged wife in Valley Stream. He had said that the purpose of the visit was to surprise his son and wife. But while inside the home, Ewers came upon his wife’s boyfriend, 34-year-old Majid Morris, and shot him multiple times, killing him and then fled the scene.

Ewers's teenage son, who was in the house at the time of the incident, called 911 and the Morris was pronounced dead shortly after at 8:04 a.m. at South Franklin Hospital.

Ewers claimed during the trial that the shooting was accidental and in self-defense. Evidence recovered at the scene included five shell casings, bullet fragments in the bed, Morris's DNA on Ewers's pants, blood smears on sheets and a pillow with bullet holes.

Ewers was arrested by Nassau County Police Department detectives the following day in Oceanside.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorney's Office