Jury selected in Othal Wallace murder trial; opening statements begin Monday

A jury has been selected for the trial of Othal Wallace, the man charged in the killing of Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor.

Wallace, 31, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Raynor on June 23, 2021. The 26-year-old Raynor remained hospitalized until his death on Aug. 17, 2021.

The jury is made up of nine women and five men, including one Black man and one Black woman. The panel included three alternates. Opening statements are set to begin at 9 a.m. Monday.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty if Wallace is convicted at his trial, which will take place in Green Cove Springs.

Wallace sat at the defense table Friday wearing a dark coat and white shirt with a red-striped tie. His defense attorneys, Terry Shoemaker and Tim Pribisco, sat next to him as did Allison Miller, who was brought in to help with jury selection. Another defense attorney, Garry Wood, sat to the side in the courtroom.

State Attorney R.J. Larizza and Assistant State Attorneys Jason Lewis and Andrew Urbanak sat at the state table.

Prospective panel questioned by attorneys

Jury selection was a week-long process that ended Friday. One of Wallace’s defense attorneys, Allison Miller, asked prospective jurors Friday afternoon how many were gun owners. About 10 raised their hands. She then went one-by-one asking what type of firearms they owned. Most said handguns, one woman said she had a 9mm pistol, another woman said she had a revolver. A man said he, too, had a 9 mm. Another man said he had both a handgun and a rifle.

Miller asked each one if they had ever used the guns in self-defense. None said they had.

Miller then asked how they would feel about using deadly force in self-defense against a police officer. It would be under circumstances in which they had the legal right to defend themselves, Miller said.

Most of the prospective jurors said that if it was a choice between their life or the police officer’s, they would use deadly force to defend themselves.

But several jurors said they would want to know more about the circumstances that led up to the incident. Some jurors questioned what could cause someone to use a gun against a police officer. One woman said she found it hard to think of a situation in which she would use deadly force against a police officer.

“A whole lot needs to go wrong for you to get to that point with a police officer,” a woman said.

A man also said he’d want to know more about the circumstances, although he would protect himself.

At another point, Miller asked jurors if they were familiar with George Floyd.

Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis objected, which was sustained.

Miller then asked for a sidebar. The gaggle of attorneys huddled with the judge at the bench.

No decision was announced as is typical of such discussions before the judge. But Miller did not ask about George Floyd again.

Miller also asked whether the jurors believed that everyone had the same experience with law enforcement. No one indicated that they did.

Later in the afternoon, the prosecutors and defense attorneys went through prospective jurors, with the defense and prosecution using their allotted strikes to remove jurors they believed would not be good for their respective cases. The defense used all 10 of its strikes and requested more. Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano gave each side two more. The defense promptly used another. And soon after, another.

The state used 10 strikes to remove jurors.

What happened the night Jason Raynor was killed?

Raynor was patrolling in an area of Daytona Beach on June 23, 2021, because residents had complained of criminal activity, police have said. Raynor went to question Wallace, who was sitting in a car outside of an apartment building at 133 Kingston Ave., where Wallace was living with his girlfriend and their children, according to reports.

Police said Wallace shot Raynor in the head. Raynor’s gun was found still in its holster.

Wallace was arrested on June 26, 2021, when a task force found him hiding in a treehouse in DeKalb County, Georgia, near Atlanta.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Othal Wallace jury selected; opening statements on Monday