BAYOU BLUE - A man accused of killing a 5-year-old in North Carolina over four years ago was arrested in Louisiana on Friday.

The Lafourche Sheriff's Office assisted the Pender County Sheriff's Office in arresting 23-year-old David Wesley Prevatte after deputies tracked him to southeast Louisiana. 

The victim, 5-year-old Paitin Fields, was found unconscious on Nov. 13, 2017 and taken to a hospital where she died days later. An autopsy found signs of strangulation and sexual trauma. 

Prevatte was first named a suspect of interest back in 2018, but he was jailed in 2019 after pleading guilty to unrelated charges of intimidating a witness, breaking and entering, larceny, and setting fire to a building. He was released in January 2020 after serving 10 months.

After his release, police received a warrant of Prevatte's arrest for first-degree murder, first-degree statutory rape, and statutory sex offense with child by adult.

Deputies tracked Prevatte's location to Bayou Blue, and he was taken into custody Friday. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex and is awaiting transport to Pender County for sentencing.