Fourth suspect sentenced in 2021 killing of Bluffton teen DJ Fields
A fourth defendant was sentenced in the 2021 shooting death of Bluffton student Dwon “D.J.” Fields Jr., leaving one suspect left without a conviction.
Shayniah Void, 23, of Orangeburg, was sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to assault and battery by mob in the first, second and third degrees. Her prison term would be followed by five years of probation.
Her brother, Jayden Void, was convicted of the same charges in June and received a 12-year prison term. The siblings were initially charged as accessories after the fact to the killing, but those charges were dropped in 2021 and replaced the following year with the mob offenses, which carry more severe punishments.
Fields’ mother, Kema Bryant, said on social media following the sentencing that she and her son’s loved ones were “still fighting” for him. “25 yrs is not enough, but we’ll take it,” she wrote, referring to Shayniah Void’s full 25-year sentence that was suspended to 17 years.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds handed down the sentence Wednesday in the Beaufort County Courthouse.
Shayniah Void received credit for 1,337 days she served in the Beaufort County jail, reducing her prison sentence to about 13.5 years.
What happened?
Fields was killed March 5, 2021, in a fatal case of mistaken identity. Prosecutors said the Void siblings directed a group of armed assailants toward Fields’ car, mistakenly believing it belonged to a rival group with whom they had a “violent ongoing dispute.” Fields was driving two friends as he left the Wendy’s parking lot off May River Road in 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.
One defendant remains
Hardeeville man Jimmie Green, 24, 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.
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 November 13, 2025 at 10:52 AM.
