‘We were just planning a graduation’: Bluffton teen’s family speaks at hearing for accused
A judge delayed a decision Wednesday on whether the two men accused of killing a Bluffton High School senior last week could be released on bond.
Because of the severity of the charges against Ty Leic Chaneyfield, 18, of Ridgeland and Jimmie Green, 19, of Hardeeville, a circuit judge must determine whether they can be released from jail and how much bond to set, Beaufort County Municipal Judge Ralph Tupper said.
They “will be incarcerated until that point in time,” he said.
The two were charged with murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Dwon “DJ” Fields Jr., a football player at Bluffton High School. Two others have been charged with accessory to murder after the fact. On Sunday, Tupper set those bonds at $1 million each.
Since Fields’ death on Friday night, classmates, coaches and the Bluffton community have attended vigils and expressed sympathy and shock over the shooting of Fields and two Bluffton High classmates.
Dwon Fields Sr., DJ’s father and football coach at Bluffton Middle School, broke down in the bond hearing for Chaneyfield and Green on Wednesday morning.
Behind plexiglass, Fields said he had coached opposite one of the two men charged. It pains him, he said, because he will never be able to take his own son to another football game again.
“It has torn my insides out,” he said. Fields said his son made his college decision the night before he was killed.
“We were just planning a graduation, now we’re planning a funeral,” said Kema Bryant, DJ Fields’ mother. “What am I supposed to do now? What is my purpose?”
‘Our son was our world’
The Bluffton Police Department is investigating the case after receiving a call around 11:30 p.m. Friday about a single-vehicle accident. Officers discovered the vehicle had been involved in a shooting. Fields was driving two of his classmates, and all three teenagers were found in the car. Police said someone fired at the car from another vehicle, sending the car veering off the road.
Authorities are not saying what, if any, connection exists between the victims and the accused and have not released a motive.
Edwin “EJ” Graham Jr., 16, a cousin of Fields, is hospitalized with serious injuries. He is currently being weaned off a ventilator, and the next 24 hours are “really critical,” said Jackie Brown, a cousin of Graham’s mother and Dwon Fields Sr.
“It’s a lot to have to pray for one family member and bury another one,” said Brown. “It’s a lot.”
A GoFundMe page was started for “EJ” and has raised more than $20,000 as of Wednesday.
A third victim, 18-year-old Kylan Simmons, was also injured but has been released from the hospital.
Since Friday, Bluffton Police have charged four people in the shooting.
Green and Chaneyfield were charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of a weapon in commission of a violent crime.
Freddy Woods, a South Carolina attorney representing Jimmie Green, said Green turned himself in to the Beaufort County Detention Center voluntarily at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Criminal court for more serious offenses — called General Sessions — begins in-person in Beaufort County on March 22, and a bond could be set for the two men closer to that date, 14th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Mary Jones said in court.
Two others charged, Jayden and Shayniah Void, are former May River High School students and siblings. They each face one count of accessory to murder after the fact.
The events of the past few days have been a horror storyfor the Fields family.
“Our son was our world,” said Bryant, Fields’ mother. “We can’t sleep, we can’t eat. [I’m awake] at 2 a.m. losing my mind.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 1:22 PM.
