Murder-For-Hire Scheme: 3 St. Pete Men Get Life In Prison, DOJ Says

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Three St. Petersburg men were sentenced to life in federal prison for a double murder-for-hire scheme, according to a Department of Justice news release.

Kermon “The General” Williams, 42; James “Hammer” Higgs, Jr., 40; and Jhaphre “Pre” Higgs, 35, were found guilty June 24 by a federal jury, the agency said.

Williams hired Jhaphre and James Higgs, Jr., to kill Tywan Armstrong, a rival drug dealer, who Williams saw as a threat to his drug business, according to the DOJ. He paid the hitmen with cash and drugs and gave them an AR-15 rifle to commit the murder.

They made their first attempt on Armstrong’s life on Sept. 22, 2018, shooting at him several times with the AR-15.

When Armstrong survived, Williams directed them to try again and to “make the murder as public as possible to send a message on the street,” the DOJ said.

On Jan. 21, 2019, the Jhaphre and James Higgs opened fire on Armstrong’s car with the AR-15 and a .40-caliber pistol in front of a large crowd gathered at a St. Petersburg gas station.

Armstrong, in the driver’s seat, was hit by 28 bullets, while his front passenger, Roger Ford, was struck 11 times and his rear passenger, unnamed in the news release, was also hit several times, the DOJ said.

Both Armstrong and Ford died from their injuries.

“This demonstrates how science — in this case, digital ballistics technology — can breathe life into violent gun crime cases,” Craig W. Saier, ATF Tampa Field Division special agent in charge, said. “And despite the twist and turns over the course of the three-plus year investigation, we never gave up.”

All three defendants were previously convicted of multiple felonies, the DOJ said. Williams was convicted of performing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child under the age of 16. Jhaphre Higgs was convicted of aggravated battery with possession of a firearm. And James Higgs, Jr., was convicted of accessory after the fact to murder.