Kermon Williams, Double Murder, Florida 2019

TRIPLE TERROR IN ST. PETERSBURG:

Three ruthless men, Kermon Williams, James Higgs, and Jhaphre Higgs, have been found guilty of a heinous double murder that shook the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance Day, January 21, 2019.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Kermon Williams, alias 'The General,' ordered the hit on Tywan Jeremiah Armstrong, who he saw as a threat to his lucrative drug business. Williams paid James and Jhaphre Higgs, who were also involved in the drug trade, with cash and drugs to carry out the execution, providing them with an AR-15 rifle to make the murder as public as possible. The motive behind this gruesome act was to send a message to the streets.

The plot unfolded in two stages. First, on September 22, 2018, James and Jhaphre Higgs, alias 'Hammer' and 'Pre,' attempted to kill Armstrong with an AR-15 on a street in St. Petersburg, but the gun jammed, and Armstrong miraculously survived. Williams then directed his cohorts to try again, this time targeting Armstrong's car on Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance Day. The Higgs brothers, along with Williams, shot and killed Tywan Armstrong, as well as his passenger, Roger Lee Ford, Jr. A third passenger was injured in the hail of bullets.

The victims' families will never forget the senseless brutality inflicted upon them. Armstrong was shot 28 times, and Ford was shot 11 times. Despite the heroic efforts of the St. Petersburg Police Department and St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, both victims succumbed to their injuries.

The investigation, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Petersburg Police Department, recovered multiple shell casings from the crime scene. Former Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Hirt Adams prosecuted the case, with Assistant United States Attorneys Craig R. Gestring and Charlie D. Connally conducting the trial.

The three defendants now face a minimum of 20 years to life in federal prison for their crimes. Sentencing is scheduled for September 27, 2022, before the Honorable Charlene E. Honeywell.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, a concerted effort to reduce violent crime. The PSN program focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Defendant Information: Kermon Williams, a/k/a 'The General' (42, St. Petersburg), James Higgs, Jr., a/k/a 'Hammer' (40, St. Petersburg), and Jhaphre Higgs, a/k/a 'Pre' (35, St. Petersburg)

Criminal Charges: Murder, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, drug conspiracy, using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime causing the death of Roger Ford and Tywan Armstrong, and being felons in possession of ammunition.

City and State: St. Petersburg, Florida

Exact Date: January 21, 2019

Sentence or Outcome: 20 years to life in federal prison, scheduled for sentencing on September 27, 2022

Case Number: Not provided

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/three-men-convicted-st-petersburg-double-murder-martin-luther-king-jr-observance-day