Frostproof triple homicide: Wiggins indicted on 1st-degree murder charges in killing of 3 friends

[Henry]

BARTOW – Tony “T.J.” Wiggins Jr. now stands formally charged
with the shooting deaths of three friends as they prepared to go
night fishing at Frostproof’s Lake Streety in July.

READ MORE: Frostproof triple homicide arrests: 'This is evil in
the flesh,' Polk Sheriff Grady Judd says

A Polk County grand jury handed up an indictment late Tuesday
against Wiggins, 26, for three counts of first-degree murder in
the fatal shootings of Brandon Rollins, Damion Tillman and Keven
Springfield.

Prosecutors now have 45 days to determine whether they will seek
the death penalty against him should he be convicted. He remains
in the Polk County Jail without bail pending trial.

A shopping bag in Tillman’s front seat, coupled with
surveillance video at a Dollar General store in Frostproof,
linked Wiggins with the murders, according to the Polk County
Sheriff’s Office. In the video, detectives observed Tillman
talking with Wiggins while standing in the store’s checkout line
minutes before the shootings.

READ MORE: Reward goes unpaid in slaying of 3 friends,
Heartland Crime Stoppers says

Wiggins’ younger brother, William Robert, brought a second break
in the case when, during questioning, he detailed witnessing the
killings as he sat in his brother’s pickup truck about 10 p.m.
July 19, according to Sheriff’s Office reports. He told
detectives he’d heard his brother accuse Springfield, 30, a
mechanic, of taking his truck, reports stated, and he watched as
the three men were shot in their trucks.

As he lay bleeding that July night, Rollins, 28, used his
cellphone to call his father for help, according to arrest
reports. His father found Rollins at the lake, but couldn’t call
for help because he’d left his cell phone behind and wasn’t able
to find his son’s, which had fallen between the truck seats.

Detectives also found bullets at the family compound where
Wiggins was living, and they matched the ones fired at the
murder scene, detectives said.

READ MORE: 4 arrests made at compound of alleged Frostproof
triple murder gunman TJ Wiggins

In addition to the murder charges, the grand jury on Tuesday
indicted T.J. Wiggins on allegations of possession of a firearm
by a convicted felon and tampering with evidence, stemming from
allegations he threw the handgun out the window after leaving
the scene of the killings. He’s scheduled to return to court for
a status hearing Nov. 3.

The younger Wiggins, 21, is charged with accessory after the
fact to a capital felony and tampering with evidence, on
allegations he helped his brother toss Tillman’s body in the bed
of the truck. Tillman, 23, had been driving. He was initially
released after posting $46,000 bail, but was returned to custody
in August after deputies asserted he had contacted his brother,
which violated his pretrial release. He’s now being held in the
Polk County Jail without bail pending trial.

Also charged with accessory after the fact to a capital felony
is T.J. Wiggins’ girlfriend, Mary Clare Whittemore, 27, who
remains in the Polk County Jail under $45,000 bail, court and
jail records show.

Both the younger Wiggins and Whittemore are scheduled for
pretrial hearings Oct. 27, according to court records.

Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at
suzie.sch...@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. Follow her on
Twitter @southpolkscene.

https://www.theledger.com/story/news/crime/2020/09/30/grand-jury-
indicts-wiggins-july-triple-homicide-frostproof/3585117001/