TAMPA, FLORIDA — More than three years after a late-night DoorDash delivery turned into a violent ordeal, Joseph Killins has been sentenced to four life terms in prison, bringing a major chapter of the Hillsborough County case to a close.

A jury convicted Killins on all six counts after deliberating for only about 20 minutes. The convictions stemmed from an April 2023 series of violent offenses involving three women, including a DoorDash driver who prosecutors said was kidnapped and sexually assaulted at gunpoint.

The three victims were present in court when Killins was sentenced.

🍕 A DELIVERY THAT TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARE
The case began on the night of April 18, 2023, when a woman was making a DoorDash delivery in the Tampa area.

According to testimony presented at trial, Killins confronted the driver while she was completing the delivery and threatened her with a firearm. Prosecutors said he then forced her into her own vehicle and made her drive away.

The victim later testified that she was held under Killins’ control for roughly two hours.

During that time, prosecutors said she was sexually assaulted while Killins remained armed.

Despite the terrifying circumstances, the woman managed to stay connected by phone with her girlfriend for part of the ordeal. When that call was eventually lost, the girlfriend and her sister became increasingly alarmed and worked to locate the victim’s phone.

That effort eventually led them toward an apartment complex, where the situation escalated again.

🔫 THE RESCUE ATTEMPT ENDED IN GUNFIRE
When the victim’s friends tried to intervene, prosecutors said Killins opened fire.

One woman who came to help was shot, turning an already violent kidnapping into an attempted killing case as well.

Investigators also connected Killins to a separate robbery involving another woman during the following day.

Prosecutors described the events as a wider violent spree rather than a single isolated confrontation, with the three victims eventually giving testimony against Killins in court.

⚖️ KILLINS DENIED THE ATTACK
When Killins took the witness stand, he rejected the prosecution’s version of events.

He denied kidnapping the DoorDash driver, denied forcing her into a vehicle and denied shooting anyone.

At one point during cross-examination, Killins became visibly agitated while answering questions about the incident.

His defense argued that the prosecution’s account did not accurately describe what happened. But the jury ultimately rejected his version of events.

After hearing the evidence, jurors needed less than half an hour to reach guilty verdicts on every count.

🚨 THE CONVICTIONS WERE FAR BEYOND A SINGLE SEXUAL-ASSAULT CHARGE
The jury found Killins guilty of multiple serious offenses connected to the attacks, including:

Armed kidnapping, sexual battery with a deadly weapon, robbery with a firearm and attempted first-degree murder.

He was also convicted of robbery and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Those convictions triggered the extraordinarily severe sentence handed down after the verdict.

🏛️ FOUR LIFE TERMS — PLUS 15 YEARS
Killins was sentenced to life in prison on four counts.

He also received 15-year sentences on the remaining two counts.

Reports of the sentencing indicate the life sentences were ordered to run concurrently, while the additional sentences were imposed under the applicable firearm and repeat-offender provisions.

For Killins, the result means he will spend the rest of his life behind bars under the sentences imposed in the case.

😡 EMOTIONS ERUPTED AFTER THE VERDICT
The courtroom became tense after the jury announced its decision.

Killins protested the verdict and shouted that the victim was lying. Deputies ultimately restrained him and removed him from the courtroom while the remaining proceedings continued.

The dramatic reaction came moments after jurors had rejected his testimony and found him guilty on every count.

For the victims, however, the verdict represented the conclusion of a case that had remained unresolved since 2023.

They had spent years waiting for the criminal case to reach trial, and all three appeared in court for the sentencing.

💔 THREE WOMEN, ONE CASE, YEARS OF WAITING
The case is especially notable because the violence did not end with the attack on the DoorDash driver.

One woman was allegedly held and sexually assaulted during the delivery incident. Another was shot while attempting to help. A third woman was the victim of a separate robbery the next day.

Their testimony became central to the prosecution’s case.

The eventual convictions established Killins’ criminal responsibility for the offenses charged in court and closed the trial phase of a case that began more than three years earlier.

🚨 A CASE THAT ENDS WITH LIFE BEHIND BARS
The August 2026 verdict and sentencing mark a major turning point in the Hillsborough County case.

What began as a routine food delivery ultimately became a chain of violent crimes involving kidnapping, sexual assault, gunfire and robbery.

Now, Joseph Killins has been sentenced to four life terms in prison, along with additional 15-year sentences.

For the women whose lives were changed that night, the sentence closes one of the longest chapters of a painful legal fight — while the court record now stands as the final judgment against the man convicted of carrying out the attacks.

Sources:

Tampa Bay 28 — Man sentenced to 4 life terms in DoorDash attack in Hillsborough County