Bluffton man sentenced for role in 2021 murder of football player DJ Fields
The third of five defendants has been sent to prison for the 2021 murder of standout football player Dwon “D.J.” Fields, a senior at Bluffton High School who was shot in a fatal case of mistaken identity.
Bluffton man Jayden Lamont Void, 23, pleaded guilty to all three charges related to the deadly shooting, receiving a partially suspended sentence of 12 years for first-degree mob violence.
Void was prosecuted for pointing several armed assailants toward Fields’ car the night of March 5, 2021, mistakenly believing it belonged to a rival group with whom they had a “violent ongoing dispute.” Fields’ vehicle was in the parking lot of the Wendy’s restaurant off Okatie Highway (S.C. 170) in southwest Bluffton.
A group of three gunmen — two of whom have also been convicted — then sprayed the car with gunfire, killing Fields and injuring two of his friends who were also in the car. One of those passengers, who was 16 at the time, was shot twice in the head but survived “by the grace of God,” prosecutors later said.
Family and friends described Fields as a “gentle giant” and a caring, compassionate mentor to his classmates and teammates. He was a defensive lineman for the BHS football team and had made his college commitment to Greenville Technical College the day before the shooting, planning to become a welder. He would have graduated from high school two months later.
The teen’s killing led to the creation of “D.J.’s Day of Giving,” an annual February observance when dozens of local businesses donate a portion of their proceeds to a college scholarship fund bearing his name.
Void received credit for 1,089 days already spent in the Beaufort County jail, bringing his expected prison term to just under nine years. If he violated court conditions, he could risk serving his full 30-year sentence for his first-degree mob violence conviction.
His partially suspended 12-year sentence was set to run concurrently with his other sentences: 12 years for second-degree and one year for third-degree mob violence, according to a Friday press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Circuit Court Judge Bryan S. Doby handed down the sentence Thursday in the Beaufort County Courthouse.
“This was a fair sentence — proportionate to the defendant’s participation in this tragedy, as well as his degree of cooperation during the subsequent investigation and prosecution,” Deputy Solicitor Sean Thorton wrote in the press release, referencing how Void previously testified against one of his co-defendants and was prepared to testify against another before that defendant entered a guilty plea.
Void had no criminal history prior to his arrest in 2021. He and his sister were initially charged as accessories to Fields’ murder, although those charges were dropped against the siblings in the months following the deadly shooting.
Which defendants are still facing trial?
Hardeeville man Jimmie Green, 23, became the first defendant to be convicted of Fields’ killing when he pleaded guilty in May 2023 to murder and five other charges related to the shooting. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Five months later, a Beaufort County jury found 23-year-old Bluffton resident Ty’Leic Chaneyfield guilty of murder and several other offenses. He received a life sentence.
Jayden Void’s sister, 22-year-old Shayniah Void, has yet to stand trial for the same set of mob attack charges.
In early 2024, prosecutors identified the fifth and final shooting suspect as 20-year-old Messiah Kasheef Anderson, of Ridgeland, who was 15 at the time of the shooting. He would be tried as an adult as the third accused gunman that targeted Fields’ car, facing a murder charge and other offenses identical to Green and Chaneyfield.
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 2:37 PM.
