On a Sunday afternoon in Princess Anne, Maryland, the life of 31-year-old Arthur Terrell Alford was tragically cut short. On September 24, 2017, emergency medical services responded to a 911 call reporting a shooting in a residential community on Freetown Road. Upon arrival, they discovered Alford lying on the ground with obvious trauma. He was rushed to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, where he was pronounced dead.
The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit immediately
launched an investigation into the shooting death of the Salisbury resident. Their efforts quickly led to a suspect, and an arrest was made in the case. Donte Sylvian Sumpter, 33, of Princess Anne, was taken into custody and charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, and the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony. Investigators recovered a long-barrel. 22 semiautomatic handgun believed to be the murder weapon and also seized a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis, which they suspected was the scene of the crime.
The investigation revealed that the murder was connected to a vehicle that Alford had purchased from Sumpter just a day before the fatal shooting. Prosecutors stated that Sumpter shot Alford twice in the head at close range while inside the vehicle, which was parked in a driveway. After the shooting, Sumpter dragged Alford's body from the car, left him in the driveway, and fled in Alford's vehicle. The car and the murder weapon were discovered less than a mile away later that evening. Sumpter's connection to the handgun was confirmed through DNA evidence, as well as email and Google searches found on his phone.
In April 2019, following a four-day trial, a Somerset County jury found Donte Sumpter guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, armed robbery, armed carjacking, and the use of a firearm in a violent crime. Subsequently, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was noted by prosecutors that Sumpter had two prior felony convictions for first-degree assault and armed robbery.
