Fourth suspect in drive-by shooting that paralyzed DeFuniak Springs woman arrested in Ocala

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — A fourth suspect wanted in connection with a shooting that left a DeFuniak Springs woman paralyzed from the chest down was taken into custody Tuesday.

Khalil Staley, 22, was arrested in Ocala by the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Marion County, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

Juana Arano lies in bed at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center after she was shot in the back in DeFuniak Springs on Jan. 10, 2021.
Juana Arano lies in bed at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center after she was shot in the back in DeFuniak Springs on Jan. 10, 2021.

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He was awaiting extradition Wednesday to Walton County, where he will face charges for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and firing a gun into an occupied vehicle.

The charges were filed Jan. 10, a year to the day that Juana Arano was paralyzed after more than 17 shots were fired at her silver Nissan Altima as she drove along U.S. Highway 90.

A photo of Juana Arano's car shows the 17 bullet holes identified by Walton County Sheriff's Office investigators. Four people have been charged in the Jan. 10, 2021, shooting that paralyzed Arano from the chest down.
A photo of Juana Arano's car shows the 17 bullet holes identified by Walton County Sheriff's Office investigators. Four people have been charged in the Jan. 10, 2021, shooting that paralyzed Arano from the chest down.

One of the bullets struck her in the back, severing her spinal cord and leaving her unable to feel anything below her sternum. At a Jan. 11 press conference, WCSO investigators said they believe the suspects were trying to kill someone else.

Staley was one of four suspects identified by the WCSO as possibly being involved in the “drive-by” style shooting. Staley was still at large when the charges were announced by the WCSO.

Two other suspects, Elijah Neal, 20, and Nicholas Campbell, 21, were arrested and booked into the Walton County jail last month.

A third suspect, Glenda Hamilton, 23, was in jail on charges involving an unrelated shooting and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Fourth arrest made in DeFuniak Springs shooting that paralyzed woman