In the late afternoon of Saturday, September 30, 2023, a tragic event unfolded in the 1000 block of Penthouse Drive at the Mountainside Villas Apartments in Birmingham, Alabama. Thomas George Bostany, a 29-year-old Caucasian male, was discovered unresponsive inside his vehicle at approximately 4:12 p.m. Birmingham Police Department's South Precinct officers were dispatched to the scene following a 'person down' call.
Upon their arrival, they found Bostany, who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the prompt arrival of Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel, he was pronounced deceased at the scene. The preliminary investigation indicated that someone had fired shots into Bostany's vehicle.
On the day of the incident, police took an adult male into custody at the scene. This individual was later identified as 26-year-old Samuel Wiggins IV of Birmingham. Following an interview with homicide detectives, Wiggins was transported to the Birmingham City Jail and held on a 48-hour felony extension for capital murder. Subsequently, the Birmingham Police Department obtained a warrant for his arrest on the charge of capital murder for shooting into a vehicle. Wiggins was then transferred to the custody of the Jefferson County Jail, where he was held without bond. The motive for the shooting has not been made clear.
In a later development, Samuel Edward Wiggins IV, then 27, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of murder as part of a plea deal. This plea was in connection with the shooting death of Thomas Bostany, who had been shot 13 times. The sentencing for Wiggins was scheduled for January 6, 2024. Thomas Bostany was a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in mechanical engineering and was remembered as an accomplished individual with a promising future.
