Deputy Sheriff Worth Joe Edwards, 49, was killed on March 15, 1980, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was off duty and talking with a friend outside the friend’s business on West Broward Boulevard when a car with a 19-year-old man and three juveniles pulled up. The friend told Edwards the group had tried to sell him guns. When the occupants asked if Edwards wanted to buy a gun, he identified himself as a law enforcement officer and said he wanted to speak with them. A struggle occurred as the 19-year-old tried to re-enter the car; one of the juveniles then got out and shot Deputy Edwards multiple times in the back, killing him instantly. A private security guard who witnessed the shooting fired at the fleeing vehicle.

The 19-year-old, Ricky Washington, was arrested and convicted of first-degree murder; he was initially sentenced to death and his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1983. The juvenile shooter was also apprehended and faced legal consequences. Edwards had served 13 years with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and was survived by his wife and six children.

Did anyone in the Fort Lauderdale area at the time have information about the vehicle or its occupants that could shed more light on the case?