Man sentenced to life in prison for 2023 murder

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – A man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Princess Anne man in 2023.

On January 12, 2023, 27-year-old Dequan Fields was reported missing to the Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack. Police located a 2004 gold Dodge Durango belonging to Fields at the Deal Island Wildlife Nature Preserve not long after he was reported missing. Detectives found blood inside the vehicle that was found to match Fields’ DNA.

Further investigation through surveillance footage and a detailed analysis of phone records showed contact between a phone number related to William Pruitt and Fields the night before and the morning of his disappearance. A cell tower analysis reportedly showed the phones traveling together from a location in Princess Anne to Marion Station, where the phones were turned off.

Pruitt was arrested on an unrelated matter and reportedly gave statements that implicated him in the robbery and murder of Fields. Statements by Pruitt led investigators to find human remains and clothing that matched the last clothing Fields was wearing before he disappeared. DNA tests matched the clothing with Fields’ DNA.

Pruitt pleaded guilty to first degree murder earlier this week and was sentenced to life in prison.