Sergeant Floyd Milton Moore Jr., 37, of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and a Vietnam War veteran, was killed on January 28, 1986, in Panama City, Florida. Moore lived and worked as a security officer at the Turtle Lake Apartments and was off-duty when he encountered a burglar at the complex. After taking the suspect’s identification and putting it in his breast pocket, Moore used his portable radio to call for a uniformed officer and told the suspect to follow him. As Moore turned, the suspect produced a concealed handgun and opened fire, fatally wounding him.

The suspect was identified as 30-year-old Walter Grant Kyser and was arrested the next day in Columbus, Georgia; the identification card Moore had taken from Kyser helped lead to the quick apprehension. Kyser was convicted of Moore’s murder and initially sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment. During interrogation Kyser gave multiple, conflicting accounts, at one point calling the shooting accidental and at other times implicating others.

Moore’s death deeply affected the sheriff’s office and the community. Does anyone have memories of Moore, his service at Turtle Lake Apartments, or information about that night?