Inset left: Travis Jackson (Montgomery County Jail). Inset right: Tanner Staggs (Obituary). Background: The area where Jackson shot and killed Staggs on Indiana Avenue in Dayton, Ohio (Google Maps).
An Ohio man has been sentenced to several decades in prison for fatally shooting a landscaper in a dispute over an alleged mess. The tragic event has resulted in a lengthy legal battle and a heavy sentence for the perpetrator.
In May, a jury in Montgomery County found 36-year-old Travis Jackson guilty on two counts of murder for the death of 22-year-old Tanner Staggs. Alongside the murder charges, Jackson was also convicted of felonious assault with a deadly weapon, felonious assault causing serious physical harm, discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises, and involuntary manslaughter.
This Wednesday, coincidentally on what would have been Staggs’ 23rd birthday, Judge Mary Wiseman of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas handed Jackson a sentence of 21 years to life in prison.
The incident took place on September 18, 2025, in Dayton, specifically on the first block of Indiana Avenue. The altercation ended in tragedy, with law enforcement responding to reports of a shooting later that morning.
Upon their arrival, officers from the Dayton Police Department discovered Staggs on the sidewalk, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was immediately transported to Miami Valley Hospital, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
At the time of the shooting, Staggs was working on an assignment for Dunham’s Lawn Care LLC, according to the Dayton Daily News.
“Tanner always had a positive attitude, was a good team player, got along well with others, was patient and understanding and a leader among our crew,” the landscaping business said in a statement provided to the newspaper. “He was a young man with so much life ahead of him. His passing leaves an unimaginable void for his loved ones, our team and the entire landscaping community.”
Investigators spoke with witnesses who said Jackson exited a home on the day in question and began arguing with Staggs about getting grass clippings and dirt on his vehicle during the landscaping work, according to court documents obtained by the Daily News.
In response, Jackson was told the crew would use a blower to get the grass clippings off his vehicle, but this proposed solution did not appease Jackson.
Instead, the defendant pulled out a 9 mm handgun and fired multiple times. Ultimately, Staggs was shot twice.
The killer, for his part, offered a slightly different narrative during a 911 call, to investigators and during his trial by way of his defense attorney, according to Dayton-based CBS affiliate WHIO.
To hear Jackson tell it, he only fired his weapon after being hit without warning. His lawyer said Jackson had made a reasonable request.
Other landscapers, however, directly contradicted this claim — testifying they never saw any such assault but that Jackson spoke disrespectfully and argued before pulling out his gun and firing.
In the end, the jury agreed with the state. As the guilty verdict was read aloud, the defendant put his hand to his face, WHIO reported.
“It is unimaginable that someone would become so upset about grass clippings on their car that they would fatally shoot someone,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said in a statement announcing the sentence. “Using a firearm to settle minor disputes is never acceptable.”