A WJXT TV-4 crime analyst was arrested Thursday night on a charge of soliciting a prostitute in the 4100 block of Philips Highway, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Gilbert Alan Smith, 57, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. during a Sheriff’s Office Vice Unit prostitution deployment, then bailed out just before 12:30 a.m. Friday, according to his arrest and jail reports.
An undercover officer was posing as a prostitute on Philips Highway when Smith began talking with her. During the conversation, the undercover officer was asked if she would take $20 for a sexual act, the arrest report said. Other officers took Smith into custody, and he declined to make a statement.
Smith was the first black public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office and also served as a fugitive detective, student drug resistance instructor, teen court counselor and school resource officer during his 26-year career there, according to his biography on news4jax.com. He retired in 2014, joining the local TV news department as a crime and safety analyst and winning an Emmy for his “Shoot, Don’t Shoot” special report.
