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Othal Wallace sentenced to 30 years in prison
Othal Wallace sentenced to 30 years in prison
A judge sentenced Othal Wallace to 30 years in prison – the maximum penalty for his charge of manslaughter with a firearm – for killing a Daytona Beach police officer Friday afternoon.
Wallace was initially charged with first-degree murder in the deadly shooting of Officer Jason Raynor, but after several hours of deliberations during the September trial, the jury convicted him on the lesser charge.
Several people, including Todd Raynor, the fallen officer's father and Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young, took the stand to share statements about how the deadly shooting has impacted them.
Raynor's father urged that Wallace be given the maximum sentence.
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Othal Wallace sentencing: Father of officer killed speaks
The father of Jason Raynor urged the jury to sentence Othal Wallace to 30 years in prison, the maximum punishment for manslaughter with a weapon or firearm in the state of Florida.
"Let him walk out in 30 years. My son, Jason Raynor, is serving a life sentence," Raynor said. "He will never see his family again and we will never see him, only in our hearts and memories."
Family members of Wallace, including his mother, Jennifer Williams, shared statements speaking to his character.
"Othal is not a bad person at all," Williams said. "I don't know why all of this took place, but I'm very apologetic for it."
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Othal Wallace's mom speaks at sentencing
Family members of Othal Wallace, including his mother, Jennifer Williams, shared statements speaking to his character during his sentencing hearing on Friday.
Wallace also gave a statement on his own behalf and addressed the Raynor family.
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Othal Wallace speaks at his sentencing hearing
Othal Wallace gave a statement during his sentencing hearing for fatally shooting Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor.
A judge handed down the 30-year prison sentence, citing the disturbing social media posts Wallace made against law enforcement before and after the killing.
"You can hate law enforcement all you want, however, violence is not a way of enforcing our beliefs in a democratic society," the judge said. "Concentrating your dislikes for all law enforcement without regard to any other human characteristics, is called prejudice."
Wallace will be in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections, with credit of 847 days. He will be required to pay court costs.
He has 30 days to appeal the sentence.
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Othal Wallace sentencing: Police chief speaks
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young took the stand in the Othal Wallace sentencing Friday morning to share how the deadly shooting of Officer Jason Raynor impacted him and his police department.
On June 23, 2021, investigators said Wallace, then 29, shot Raynor who was responding to a call about suspicious activity near an apartment complex on Kingston Street. At some point, Raynor was shot in the head, which sparked a nationwide manhunt for Wallace.
The Daytona Beach man was found three days later in a tree house of DeKalb County near Atlanta, Georgia, which is more than six hours away from Daytona Beach.
Raynor, who had been hospitalized for two months, later died of his injuries. He was 26.