Oct 9, 2026

BARTOW, Fla. (Court TV) — A man convicted of killing three friends who were heading out to fish was sentenced Friday to multiple terms of life in prison after a jury voted to spare him the death penalty.

Tony ‘TJ’ Wiggins smiles at sentencing on Oct. 9, 2026. (Court TV)

Tony Lee “TJ” Wiggins, 32, was convicted of three counts of murder in the deaths of Damion Tillman, 23, Brandon Rollins, 27, and Keven Springfield, 30. Wiggins, who did not testify in either the guilt or penalty phase of his trial, sat smiling in court as he was confronted by his victims’ families at his sentencing.

“I hope every guard, deputy, inmate that you come in contact in prison, their name is Brandon so you can remember that name for the rest of your life, because you murdered my son,” Rollins’ mother, Dottie Payton, said in her victim impact statement. She held up a photo of her son for the defendant to see. “That was my son that you murdered. Get a good close look at him.”

During his trial, prosecutors suggested that Wiggins killed the victims over a fight about a truck. Wiggins’ truck was found in Springfield’s possession, and investigators later determined that the engine had been removed and put into Tillman’s truck. “If you would have met my son, he would have gave you the shirt off his back,” Elizabeth Tillman, Damion Tillman’s mother, said Friday. “If this was because of the motor, he would have gave it back to you for his life. You took a piece of my family away.”

“The cowardly act of killing three guys over a motor was senseless,” Springfield’s brother-in-law, Michael Smith, said in court. “There’s no sense in killing somebody over $200.”

Smith looked directly at the defendant as he said, “I hope every day you spend your life in prison is torturous. Pure evil. Tortuous. You’re a coward.” As Smith walked back toward the courtroom gallery, he kept targeting the defendant, calling him a coward until the judge admonished him to be quiet.

When Judge Jalal Harb turned toward the defense, Wiggins’ attorneys said they had nothing to present and that the defendant had no plans to address the court. “Not even an apology?” a woman called out from the gallery.

Prosecutors said Wiggins shot the victims to death, then drove off with his girlfriend and his brother, stopping for cheeseburgers at McDonald’s before going home. Wiggins’ brother was initially called to testify at his trial but reneged on his plea deal and denied being anywhere near the crime scene when asked by prosecutors.

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“Simply put, what happened on the unfortunate night was a series of senseless acts that’s hard to explain,” Harb said as he began to pronounce the sentence.

Because the jury voted not to recommend the death penalty, Harb was required by law to impose life sentences without parole, and he ordered them served consecutively.