During a hearing last week, defendant Othal Wallace was sentenced to the maximum of 30 years in prison for the shooting death of Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor.
On the evening of June 23, 2021, Officer Raynor was patrolling at an apartment complex off of Kingston Avenue in Daytona Beach when he came across Wallace sitting in a Honda SUV. The Central Florida officer’s body camera video shows the brief 42-second interaction between him and the defendant. Wallace refused to answer Officer Raynor’s questions or listen to his commands.
Eventually, the interaction escalated and a gunshot could be heard.
Officer Raynor, who was quickly found by his fellow officers, was shot in the head and sent to the hospital in critical condition. A manhunt then began for Wallace.
Three days later, on June 26, 2021, the defendant was found by Georgia State Police hiding in a treehouse in a remote area east of Atlanta with multiple weapons. He was arrested and extradited back to Volusia County.
Unfortunately, almost two months after he was shot, on August 17, 2021, Officer Raynor died due to complications from the gunshot wound.
“Officer Jason Raynor was doing his job – protecting our community – and he lost his life as a result.” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the defendant. “The defendant shot and killed Officer Raynor because he harbored a deep-seated hate for law enforcement – not because he was fearful for his life. There is no sentence that would adequately punish the defendant for his brutal murder but imposing the maximum sentence brings some measure of justice and accountability.”
The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department with assistance from multiple other local and state law enforcement agencies. State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak and Chief of Homicide Jason Lewis successfully prosecuted the case for the state.
The Honorable Raul Zambrano presided over the case and pronounced sentence. The defendant was found guilty by a Clay County jury in September of Manslaughter.
