On November 17, 1981, two armed men robbed the office of the Lake Apopka Gas Company in Apopka, Florida. At the time of the robbery, 67-year-old Elva Wincey was working behind the desk. The robbers bound Wincey and gagged her with a dirty washcloth at gunpoint, then fled in a car with $200. Wincey saw the tag number of the robbers’ car as they drove away.
In March 1982, police got a call from a confidential informant, who told police that Wayne Milton and Gary Peterson (sometimes referred to as Cary Peterson) were the robbers. The police traced the tag number reported by Wincey to an acquaintance of Peterson. Wincey viewed 34 police mugshots and identified Peterson and Milton, a 24-year-old production worker at the Orlando Sentinel.
The case against Milton and Peterson went to trial in May 1982 in Orange County Circuit Court. Assistant State Attorney Tom Smith prosecuted the case, and defense attorney Tom Watson represented Milton. Milton and Peterson each testified at their joint trial, asserting their innocence. Wincey identified both defendants in court. Smith said that both men deserved life in prison. The jury found both men guilty of armed robbery, which had a minimum mandatory sentence of three years in prison.
When the verdict was read, “the look on [Milton’s] face told me there was something very wrong here,” Smith later said. Smith said he had never seen a defendant react to a guilty verdict as Milton had.
Prior to sentencing, Smith decided to investigate further with the help of State’s Attorney Investigator Dusty Rhodes. The two met with Milton in his jail cell after his conviction. Smith had a polygraph examination administered to Milton, and the polygrapher said he found Milton was being truthful when he said he was not involved in the crime.
Rhodes learned that Milton had broken his big toe 10 days before the crime. His foot was so swollen at the time of the robbery that he had been unable to wear a shoe and walked with a cane. Wincey had not reported either robber as limping or using a cane. Rhodes also could not find any evidence that Milton and Peterson knew each other.
Wincey had described one of the robbers, whom she later identified as Milton, as having sideburns and a goatee. In Rhodes’s investigation, he learned that Milton had a skin rash that caused him to always have a full beard. Rhodes obtained family photos of Milton each year since 1978, and Milton had a full beard in all the photos.
“I couldn’t sleep at night if I knew an innocent man was up there serving a minimum mandatory three and maybe more than that,” Smith said. He motioned the court to reverse Milton’s conviction in June 1982. “I wouldn’t have made the motion if I didn’t believe he was innocent,” Smith said. Milton was released from prison on his own recognizance pending the outcome of his upcoming hearing.
On June 11, 1982, Judge Joseph Baker overturned Milton’s conviction. Neither Milton nor his attorney were present for the hearing.
Smith said he still believed Peterson was guilty of the robbery and would pursue finding his accomplice. Available records do not provide any information on whether anyone else was later convicted for this crime.
- Meghan Barrett Cousino
Posting Date: 04-28-2026
