Tilghman was a corrections officer at Maryland Correctional Institute who was secretly involved in the prison drug trade. He harassed prisoner Wee-Bey Brice after Wee-Bey confessed to the murder of one of his relatives. Fellow prisoner Avon Barksdale tried to negotiate a truce but Tilghman refused, so Avon had Stringer Bell locate his drug supplier. Bell paid the supplier, Butchie, to give Tilghman tainted heroin, leading to the deaths of several inmates. An investigation was launched and Avon informed on Tilghman in exchange for an early parole hearing. When prison staff searched Tilghman's car, they found evidence which Shamrock had subtly planted to corroborate Avon's story, and Tilghman was arrested.