Florida Sheriff Known for Infamous 'Wheel of Fugitive' Sued for Defamation

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has gained notoriety for his weekly "Wheel of Fugitive" videos on social media. These videos feature a "Wheel of Fortune" type of wheel where the Sheriff talks about Florida criminals. Now, he is getting sued for it.

However, because of those weekly posts, the Florida Sheriff is facing a defamation lawsuit from one of the men he featured in his "Wheel of Fugitive" videos. David Gay, a man who was featured in one of those videos, says he is not a fugitive and the sheriff cost him a possible job and has caused him to suffer emotional distress, according to the Associated Press.

Gay is seeking over $50,000 in damages, according to his court filing. He claims that a prospective boss called him while he was driving for his first day of work and told him not to bother showing up anymore because he was seen featured in the sheriff's infamous "Wheel of Fugitive" videos.

Florida Sheriff Featured People Who Were Not Fugitives in His 'Wheel of Fugitive' Videos

Gay appeared in four episodes of the social media video series between January and February 2021. He argued that he was not a fugitive anymore at that time as he stated that he was either still in jail after turning himself in or already released.

A USA TODAY investigation found that 60 of the so-called "fugitives" that the Florida sheriff featured in his videos were not fugitives at all, including Gay. Many of them may have been already jailed at the time they were featured or have already been released. Some also had no active arrest warrant at the time they were featured.

The online show does have a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen, and it states that some of those depicted might no longer be fugitives. However, legal experts say that the disclaimer does not remove the burden of vetting if the information he features on his show is correct from the sheriff.

As for Gay, he reportedly suffered depression and anxiety, as well as damage to his reputation. He claimed in the lawsuit that he was "regarded with scorn, contempt, ridicule, and disrespect which will continue in the foreseeable future."

Gay had been arrested before, and that was because he violated his probation in January 2021. Previously, he had also been arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. However, the case was eventually dismissed as it was found out that he had gotten into a fight with his father who had gotten into a physical altercation with his mother,

Florida Sheriff Claims Everybody Watches His Show, Including the Fugitives

The Associated Press ran a story about how Florida sheriffs deal with the infamous "Florida Man," as the state's oddball criminals have made Florida infamous. One of them is Sheriff Wayne Ivey and his weekly "Wheel of Fugitive" videos.

The sheriff proudly told that "Everybody watches it. Even the fugitives watch it" to see who becomes "fugitive of the week."

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Florida sheriff sued over "Wheel of Fugitive" posts on social media - CBS Miami