| CONSTABLE WAYNE CORAM (Bay County Sheriff's Office)
In the 1960's, Florida had a second level of elected law enforcement
in each county; they were called "Constables". There were several of these
officers in each county, each separately elected and serving precinct areas of the
County. One such Constable was Wayne Coram, whose responsibility encompassed the
Beaches and West Bay area of the County. On the sixth day of October of 1951,
Constable Coram went to West Bay to arrest two brothers; Jack and Ellis Mayo. The
two surrendered peaceably and were loaded into Constable Coram's car. At that point
one of the two brothers drew a concealed handgun and forced Coram to surrender his
gun. They then put him in the car and drove off. During the ride, one of the
brothers secretly reloaded Coram's pistol with blanks and returned it to him. As the
car slowed down for an intersection in what is now West Bay, Coram jumped from the
car. A shooting match began, with all three men firing. Coram was gunned down
and the brothers drove off. The were later apprehended, convicted and sentenced to
life imprisonment in the Florida prison system.
PATROLMAN JERRY T. WELLS (Panama City Police
Department)
In terms of a Law Enforcement officer being killed in the line of duty, we... the
public... tend to think of shots being fired, or dramatic actions. That is not
always the case. In fact, a good number of officer deaths occur on the road...
either en route to respond to a call, or in the "routine" travel on their lawful
duty. We can often choose when or where we drive; Law Enforcement does not have that
luxury. Such was the case of Panama City Police Officer Jerry Tommie Wells,
"Jerry" to those who knew him. On the morning of August 17, 1973,
Patrolman Wells had been sitting on his motorcycle off Florida Avenue near Jinks Junior
High School. He pulled out onto Florida Avenue and accelerated towards fifteenth
street. Suddenly, a locomotive, which was destined for display at Gulf Coast
Community College, rolled across the rail crossing in Well's path. Despite his best
efforts to lay the bike down, Well's and the motorcycle struck the side of the locomotive.
He was killed instantly.
DEPUTY CHARLES SCOTT (Bay County Sheriff's
Office)
Deputy Sheriff Charles Scott was appointed by the Governor of Florida to fill the Office
of Sheriff of Bay County after the first Sheriff (Brown) was removed from office.
Scott ran for Sheriff again against F.M. Nelson who was elected. Nelson in turn
offered Scott a job as Deputy. In November of 1917, Scott was standing on the depot
platform at Betts (around the area of the overpass on Hwy. 231). A man named J.J.
Coleman appeared on the platform, and after walking by Scott several times, stopped and
began a verbal argument which escalated to the point that Coleman snatched Scott's
revolver from his holster and struck him one time in the head and face with the weapon.
As Scott staggered to the safety of the depot building, Coleman fired one shot
which struck Scott in the abdomen. He died on the platform a few minutes later.
Coleman left the scene, then returned shortly thereafter to make sure Scott was
dead. Coleman was arrested in Fountain, Florida, a few days later and charged with
the murder by Sheriff C.S. Russ.
SERGEANT FLOYD MOORE, JR. (Bay County Sheriff's
Office)
On the night of January 28, 1986, Sgt. Moore had been working late at
his job in the Special Investigations Unit of the Sheriff's Office. On an extremely
cold night, Floyd was walking towards his apartment at Turtle Lake apartments, when he saw
a man who was acting suspiciously. Sgt. Moore approached the man, later identified
as Walter Grant Kyser, and asked for identification. Kyser produced his drivers
license, which Moore placed in his pocket. Moore then placed Kyser under arrest and,
using his portable radio, called for a patrol unit to come to the complex to transport
Kyser to jail. As the two walked towards the roadway, Kyser drew a handgun from his
jacket, shooting Sgt. Moore once in the side of the head. Moore died hours later
without regaining consciousness. However, he solved his own murder, as investigators
found Kyser's drivers license in Moore's pocket. Kyser was found in Georgia where
he had fled. He was returned to Florida and is currently serving a life sentence in
Florida's prison system.
DEPUTY WILL PLEDGER (Bay County Sheriff's
Office)
Will Pledger was born in Jackson County and moved to Bay County in 1917. He became a
full time Deputy Sheriff early in 1935. In the early morning hours of September 7,
1935, Deputy Pledger was making checks of the road houses and night spots in the Bayou
George area. About one O'clock in the morning he entered the "Night Owl",
where he became involved in an altercation with two brothers. At some point in the
confrontation, Pleas Forehand drew a handgun and fired one shot striking Pledger down.
He died two hours later in the hospital. The Forehands were tried and
sentenced to life imprisonment in the Florida prison system.
Deputy Don C. Johnson, Jr. (Bay County Sheriff's
Office)
On Saturday afternoon, July 11, 1999, Deputy Johnson was providing a motorcycle escort to
a funeral procession which was traveling westward along a secondary road (Hwy. 388) in
rural northern Bay County. Johnson was 25 - 40 yards ahead of the procession, and
riding in the center of the westbound lane, his emergency lights and headlight were
activated. At about 3:30, a cluster of three vehicles approached the procession eastbound.
The last vehicle in the group, a small pick-up truck, driven by a white female, pulled out
to pass. In doing so, she entered the westbound lane and struck Deputy Johnson head
on. Johnson was thrown from his motor, striking the windshield of the truck, and was
then thrown over the truck cab and onto the roadway. Johnson was transported to a
local hospital where he died from massive head injuries and neck trauma two hours
later. Johnson joined the Sheriff's Office in 1990, moved up to the reserve (fully
sworn) in 1993 and became a full time Deputy Sheriff in January of 1994. He
became a part of the motorcycle unit
in January of 1999
just three weeks prior to his
untimely death. In September of
2000 the Bay County Board of County Commissioners honored Deputy Johnson by naming that
portion or Highway 388 as the "Don Carlton Johnson, Jr. Memorial Highway". |
