DAYTON — The man convicted of killing a 22-year-old landscaper has learned how long he’ll spend in prison.
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A judge sentenced Travis Jackson, 36, to 21 years to life in prison on Wednesday, which would have been Tanner Staggs’ 23rd birthday.
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“When I left home this morning, I said, ‘Happy Birthday, Tanner. This is for you,’” Barbara Staggs, his grandmother, said.
As previously reported, Jackson was found guilty last month on all counts connected with Staggs’ September 2025 murder.
Prosecutors said Jackson argued with landscapers working at his neighbor’s home.
They said he became upset over grass clippings that got on his car.
His lawyer said Jackson made a reasonable request and only fired his gun after being hit without warning.
“We cannot have people that resort to gun violence and use guns to settle arguments over silly stuff,” Judge Mary Wiseman said during Jackson’s sentencing.
Staggs’s family told News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins how that day in September started.
“He actually, it was his day off work that day and they called him in, and that happened,” Shannon Blessing, Staggs’s stepmother, said.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, he took the extra shift that day because he was saving up for a wedding with his high school sweetheart.
His family remembers him as someone funny, loving, and wise beyond his age.
“That’s the type of person he was, and he will be greatly missed. At least the day, I mean, hopefully I get to see him again,” his grandmother said.
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