Jury finds Othal Wallace guilty of manslaughter in shooting of Daytona Beach police officer

After two days of deliberation, a jury found Othal Wallace guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Daytona Beach Officer Jason Raynor.

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Wallace was initially charged in Volusia County with first-degree murder after he shot Officer Raynor during a traffic stop in 2021. His trial was moved to Clay County after his defense successfully argued that Wallace wouldn’t receive a fair trial in Volusia County.

The prosecution sought the death penalty for Wallace, and during his week-long trial, the jury was asked to consider whether Wallace committed premeditated first-degree murder. The jury had the power to convict Wallace of second-degree murder or manslaughter if they weren’t convinced he committed premeditated murder, which would spare him from the death penalty.

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Wallace’s team protested Friday and asked for a mistrial after they claimed the judge gave confusing instructions to the jury about the different types of first-degree murder and the difference between the murder of a law enforcement officer and someone else. That motion was denied by the judge.

The jury deliberated for 11 hours on Friday, but members could not reach a verdict. The verdict finally came at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, with the jury convicting Wallace of manslaughter, sparing him of the death penalty.

Following the verdict, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young released the following statement:

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