Sheriff’s ‘Wheel of Fugitive’ show cost wrongly accused man his job, Florida lawsuit says
A man headed to his new job was told “to not bother showing up” because his new boss had seen him featured on a Florida sheriff’s “Wheel of Fugitive” show, a new lawsuit says.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey’s videos regularly posted online identify accused fugitives on a spinning wheel before he spins it to choose the “fugitive of the week,” the videos show.
The concept is similar to the “Wheel of Fortune” game show and calls on the public to help capture the “fugitives,” according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 25 in a Brevard County court.
David Austin Gay, 23, of Brevard County, was not a fugitive when he was portrayed as such on Ivey’s show four separate times — similar to several others who were wrongly accused, a complaint says.
Being featured on the show not only cost Gay his job and harmed his mental health, but it also made Gay fearful that police or members of the public would arrest, harass or threaten him, according to the complaint, which says he “stayed in his home as much as possible.”
Now Gay is suing Ivey and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, accusing them of defamation and intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, the complaint shows. Brevard County is along Florida’s coast about 50 miles east of Orlando.
McClatchy News contacted Ivey on Jan. 30 and the Brevard County Sheriff’s for comment Jan. 31 and didn’t receive a response.
“The lawsuit was filed because right is right and wrong is wrong,” Jessica J. Travis, the lead attorney of DefendBrevard.com law firm, said in a statement Jan. 27.
The firm represents Gay in the case.
Gay is identified as a fugitive four separate times
With rock music playing, Ivey’s “Wheel of Fugitive” videos shared to YouTube and Facebook begin by zeroing in on the name and photo of every person featured on the wheel as a “participant” for the week.
A fugitive refers to someone who is hiding from law enforcement and evading arrest.
Gay was named as a fugitive on Ivey’s show four times in 2021, including Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and Feb. 23, while he was actually sitting in a Brevard County Jail cell for violating probation, according to the complaint.
Previously, Gay was sentenced to three years of probation in Brevard County in November 2020 for an unspecified matter, the complaint says.
Afterward, Gay violated probation when he was arrested in December 2020 in a case that was ultimately dismissed, according to the complaint. Gay was accused of domestic battery “because he believed his father ‘was in a physical altercation with (his) mother,’” his arrest affidavit stated, according to the complaint.
As a result, he was incarcerated Jan. 25 for violating his probation and remained in the county jail until Feb, 23, the complaint says.
During those few weeks, Ivey repeatedly, and wrongfully, declared Gay a fugitive on his show, according to the complaint.
‘I got ten fugitives up here. All ten of them need to find their way to Brevard County Jail’
In the first video that shows Gay, posted Jan. 26, 2021, Ivey declares that he “loves” how residents partner with the sheriff’s office to “get criminals off our street and safely behind bars where they can’t hurt anyone else,” the video shows.
“I got ten fugitives up here. All ten of them need to find their way to Brevard County jail,” Ivey is heard saying before spinning the wheel to discover who is the “fugitive of the week.”
Before the wheel is spun, the camera focuses on Gay as the first “fugitive” in the Jan. 26 video.
Gay loses his job after his boss sees ‘Wheel of Fugitive’
At Gay’s sentencing hearing Feb. 22, he pleaded guilty to violating his probation and his probation was reinstated, according to the complaint. This prevented him from becoming a convicted felon.
However, after his release from jail Feb. 23, Gay was identified as a fugitive the fourth time on Ivey’s show that same day, the complaint says.
Again, Gay is the first accused fugitive shown in this video, it shows.
Following his release from jail, Gay was driving to his first day of work at a new job when his new boss called and told him not to come because of his appearances on the “Wheel of Fugitive” show, the complaint says.
“After learning he was featured on Ivey and/or BCSO’s ‘Wheel of Fugitive’ videos, (Gay) experienced emotional distress including, but not limited to, depression and anxiety,” the complaint says.
Others wrongfully featured on ‘Wheel of Fugitive’
The lawsuit accuses Ivey of showing several other people on the “Wheel of Fugitive” show while they were already in custody or had arrest warrants resolved.
An investigation by FLORIDA TODAY revealed Gay and 59 other people were wrongly accused of being fugitives on Ivey’s show between February 2020 and February 2021, according to the newspaper.
“We cannot defame other people or paint them in a false light. The wheel shouldn’t be padded with people who are not fugitives,” Travis said. “No one has the right to cause compliant citizens to lose their jobs or live in fear of confrontation or arrest; not even the Sheriff.”
The lawsuit lists 12 counts against Ivey and the sheriff’s office, including counts for defamation, and intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress.
It demands a trial by jury.
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