Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement, Florida
End of Watch: Saturday, April 14, 1979
Age: 61
Tour of Duty: 14 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: April 14, 1979
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Six suspects convicted
Inspector Austin Gay was shot and killed after being abducted from his inspection station on U.S. 441 south of the Florida - Georgia border.
Seven days later, his body was located on a farm in Brooks County, Georgia, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head. His body had been stripped of his uniform and duty weapon.
The previous month another inspector at a nearby station had been abducted after discovering a load of marijuana being smuggled by a group of corrupt police officers from Chicago, Illinois. The group had handcuffed the inspector to a tree in a remote area and left him for dead, but he was found about eight hours later unharmed.
The corrupt officers then hired a hitman to murder that inspector to prevent him from testifying. The hitman mistook Inspector Gay for the other inspector, abducted him, and murdered him.
In 1983 the six corrupt Chicago police officers were convicted of charges in connection with Inspector Gay's murder. The alleged hitman was acquitted of the charges.
Inspector Gay had served with the Florida Department of Agriculture as a road guard inspector for 14 years.