Special Agent Wesley C. Sellars

Wesley C. Sellars

Special Agent Wesley Sellars was shot to death from ambush by two men at the railroad depot in High Springs, Florida. Agent Sellars was investigating the looting of freight cars by a gang of thugs, who were also terrorizing the community. Two of the gang members were arrested and charged with his murder in 1908.

Both suspects were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. One was pardoned by Governor Park Trammell on August 29, 1915. The other suspect, an ex-Savannah, Georgia, police officer, fired the shotgun blast at close range that nearly severed Agent Sellars head from his body. He had a history of escape attempts and escaped with the help of prison guard in 1911. The guard was convicted of aiding an inmate in an escape and sentenced to a term in prison. The suspect was apprehended several months later in Cuba and returned to prison. Both suspects were linked to eight unsolved murders in the High Springs Atlantic Coast Line rail yard before and after Agent Sellars murder. They were never charged because of insufficient evidence. The murders and the terrorizing of citizens stopped after the two were apprehended. The pardoned suspect returned to his old haunts.

Special Agent Sellars served several years as a policeman with the Tampa Police Department.