A Cambridge man who robbed and killed two men within hours will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A Dorchester County Circuit Court Judge William Jones handed Tramelle Lamar Williams Jr., two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of Taijay Daniels, 24, and Lory Fields, 69. Williams was found guilty and convicted in two separate trials of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, assault in the first-degree and assault in the second degree, armed robbery, robbery, and several other felony charges.
“While the senseless killings ... cannot be undone, it is the State’s hope that these verdicts will give the families and loved ones of the victims a small sense of peace moving forward,” said Dorchester County State’s Attorney Amanda Leonard, according to The Democrat Star.
Around 7:14 pm on Dec. 8, 2022, officers responded to the area of Race and Pleasant Street, where they found the body of Daniels with multiple gunshots. Then, authorities retrieved a video from a nearby apartment complex that showed the 23-year-old defendant approaching Daniel with a gun. The victim dropped his phone as William extended his hands before shooting Daniels in the back. Then, he shot him two more times in the head before robbing him and fleeing from the scene.
Three hours into the investigation surrounding Daniel’s homicide, and while still at the crime scene, officers received reports of another homicide along High Street. Upon arrival, they found Fields’ body lying in his front yard. Investigators later determined both crime scenes were related after they discovered Williams had shot the second victim in the head and stole the keys to his Chrysler 300.
The next day, Williams was arrested after being shot in the leg during a foot chase. Officers found a handgun in his possession, which was later determined to have been used at both homicides, including the cell phone belonging to Daniels and Fields’ car keys.
The trials for the two homicides were prosecuted separately after Williams's defense lawyer filed a motion to avoid undue prejudice if only one jury heard all evidence related to both homicides.
Williams apologized to the victims’ families while still claiming his innocence and argued he would be a beneficiary of a psychiatric hospital, reported Dorchester Star.
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