Joshua Williams is a prime example of how not to settle an argument. On the night that most of Philadelphia was celebrating the arrival of the year 2013, Williams had a beef with Frankford resident Tyjuan Shields. Apparently, Williams, who was five days shy of his 18th birthday at the time, fought Shields, then 24, in the street. The nature of the dispute is not known.
As a result, at about 2:35 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2013, Williams brought a gun to Shields’ house on Pratt Street just east of Frankford Avenue and opened fire at the building. One shot wounded Shields fatally in the head. He died at the scene. Police eventually identified Williams as the shooter and captured him on April 28, 2014. On Oct. 5, Williams pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. Common Pleas Court Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi then sentenced Williams to serve 20 to 40 years in state prison. ••
