Opening statements and testimony began Monday in Othal Wallace trial

After shooting Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor, Othal Wallace said “(Expletive) that man,” before driving away and leaving the officer shot in the head, lying on the ground, according to Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak.

And 16 days before shooting Raynor, Wallace expressed in a social media post that someday he would be proud to get some "pig's blood" on his hands and boots, Urbanak told the jurors in his opening of Wallace's murder trial.

Wallace, 31, was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Raynor on June 23, 2021. The 26-year-old Raynor remained hospitalized until his death on Aug. 17, 2021. If convicted, the state will seek the death penalty.

Raynor was patrolling in an area of Daytona Beach on June 23, 2021, when he saw Wallace sitting in a car outside an apartment building at 133 Kingston Ave., where Wallace was living with his girlfriend and their children, according to reports. Raynor went to question Wallace, and asked Wallace whether he lived there. Wallace got up out of the car as Raynor told him to sit, according to body camera video.

Urbanak said the jurors would witness Raynor’s shooting by way of his body camera; they would see when Raynor walks up to Wallace that Wallace had a small marijuana cigarette in his right hand.

Urbanak said that Raynor was being polite and courteous to Wallace as he spoke to him.

It is when Officer Raynor keys up his radio to speak to dispatch that Wallace pushes him with his forearm, obscuring the camera. Jurors will then hear Raynor tell Wallace to stop four times before they hear the gunshot.

Urbanak said Raynor never drew his weapon; Raynor’s gun was found still holstered in his duty belt.

Raynor never threatens the defendant, Urbanak said. He is polite and courteous and asks the defendant to follow his simple instructions, but the defendant did not.

“He took to Instagram within minutes of murdering officer Raynor − within minutes of shooting him in the head − and bragged … .” Urbanak said.

Wallace murdered Raynor because he was a police officer, according to Urbanak.

“He murdered officer Raynor because he was a cop − because he was the police. Because he was a law enforcement officer. But to him, Officer Raynor was just a 'pig,'" Urbanak said.

After the gunshot, you will hear Wallace say “(expletive) that man,” before hearing the tires of the car driving away, Urbanak told jurors.

And after leaving a wounded Raynor, Wallace flees the county and, within a matter of hours, the state.

Wallace drove to Jacksonville and then to Gainesville where he switched cars and got his brother to drive him to an area near Atlanta, Urbanak said.

Wallace was arrested in Georgia in a treehouse with multiple weapons, including an AK-style assault rifle with a banana clip and the Glock 17 pistol he had used to kill Raynor.

Othal Wallace's defense: Raynor put his hands on Wallace

One of Wallace's defense attorneys, Terry Shoemaker, made the opening for the defense by reading the Fourth Amendment − that people's right to be secure in their persons shall not be violated. The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

Wallace was relaxing in his car, Shoemaker said.

Then Raynor walked up and Wallace was hemmed in his car by the car door and Raynor. Raynor was standing close to Wallace.

He said Raynor asked Wallace if he lived there and Wallace asked him what was going on.

Shoemaker said Raynor put his hands on Wallace and tried to push him back into the car. He asked him again whether he lived there, yes or no, Shoemaker said.

Wallace tried to back away, but Raynor grabbed him by the back of his collar.

A struggle ensues and you hear a gunshot, Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker said Wallace was apprehended in Georgia without incident even though he was up in a treehouse with an AK. He did not shoot at police, Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker said the safety latch was off on Raynor’s Taser.

Shoemaker told jurors a key to the case was whether when Raynor “horse collars” Wallace, whether he would have been in fear and had the right to defend himself.

'Hang on, Jason'

Amanda Dickens was a Daytona Beach Police officer on the night that Raynor was shot. Dickens, who is now a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, testified that Raynor had told her about a BOLO, or be on the lookout, for a stolen gray Honda that had been detected by license plate readers in the city. The stolen Honda CRV had eight French bulldogs inside when it was stolen, another witness testified.

Wallace was sitting in a gray Honda, but it was not the one that had been reported stolen.

Under questioning by Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis, Dickens said she was in her car speaking to another officer when she heard Raynor’s call sign on the radio: “Charlie 77.”

When dispatch replied “Go ahead,” as is routine, Raynor did not reply. Dispatch called him several times, but did not receive a response.

She said that usually means a police officer is in trouble, can’t get to the radio or is fighting someone.

She said she and the other officer drove to Raynor’s location.

Once at the scene, she heard the other officer, who had arrived ahead of her, say Raynor had been shot. She drew her gun because she did not know if the shooter was still in the area.

The other officer asked for something to help stop the bleeding. She asked for a towel and a man gave her the shirt off his back.

She said Raynor was shot in the head and bleeding.

She said Raynor was conscious, and officers were telling him it was going to be OK and to hang on. Dickens said she tried to access Raynor’s body camera.

Lewis pointed out a still frame of her body camera video which showed Raynor’s gun still holstered with a strap keeping it in place. She said everything else, such as Raynor’s baton, pepper spray and Taser, were still on his belt.

Dickens’ body camera shows her running toward Raynor, who was lying on his back with a blood-stained T-shirt over his head.

An officer told Raynor: “You are going to be alright, bud.”

Another officer said “Hang on, Jason!”

“Hang on, buddy. Hang on, buddy,” an officer said.

As the body camera video is played in court, Wallace looks straight on as he holds his left hand to his face. In front of Wallace, a screen is showing the body camera. Other screens in the courtroom show it to jurors and people in the gallery.

An officer asks Raynor “Who was it?”

“Who is it, Jason?”

“Can you tell me anything, buddy?” another officer said.

The video was stopped when a juror asked for a tissue. She wiped her nose and eyes and then the video was restarted.

Officers asked Raynor more questions: “Who is it? Who did it? Jason, who did it?”

During cross examination, Terry Shoemaker told Dickens that, at the time of the shooting, she didn't mention anything about Raynor saying he was going to look for a stolen vehicle.

Shoemaker told Dickens that she had originally said she was certain that Raynor made the comment when they were together at a trespassing call. But later she realized she was mistaken, Shoemaker said.

Dickens said today she was testifying with certainty that Raynor had told her about a license plate reader detecting the car. But at a deposition, she testified that he said he was going to look for a stolen car.

Shoemaker asked her why her memory was so much better today.

She said she had had time to reflect on it.

Shoemaker asked her if Raynor was looking for a stolen car and contacting a possibly dangerous individual, why wouldn’t he radio it in beforehand.

She said it had not been confirmed that the car was stolen.

Tyesha Lewis, who at the time of the shooting lived at 133 Kingston in Apartment 8, testified during the afternoon. She said she has two children with Wallace and that on the day of the shooting, she last saw Wallace at McDonald’s where they both worked.

She said she had returned home from taking her daughter to gymnastics and then they went to sleep. She was awaken by a commotion and went outside. She said someone was screaming that they needed towels, so she gave them a towel. She went back into the apartment.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Othal Wallace on trial in death of Daytona Beach police officer Jason Raynor