Othal Wallace sentenced to 30 years for killing Daytona Beach police officer Jason Raynor

Othal Wallace was sentenced Friday to the maximum 30 years in prison for killing Daytona Beach police officer Jason Raynor.

Wallace shot Raynor after the officer tried to question him on June 23, 2021, as Wallace sat in his car in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the city. The 26-year-old Raynor died 55 days later at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

Shortly before the sentence was announced, Wallace asked the judge for community control, basically house arrest, saying he could be a productive member of society.

Seventh Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza asked for the maximum sentence.

Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano sentenced the 31-year-old Wallace to the full 30 years in prison. Wallace received credit for 847 days time-served while he was in the custody of the Volusia County Branch Jail awaiting trial.

Zambrano referred to Wallace’s social media posts, including one in the days before he shot and killed Raynor. In that post Wallace said he would one day be proud to get “pig’s blood on his hands and boots.”

Zambrano said that words matter and Wallace’s words were chilling.

“The truth is that you clearly expressed your feelings towards law enforcement just days before officer Jason Raynor was killed,” Zambrano said. “I am convinced more so today than at any other time that you did not kill officer Raynor because he was Jason Raynor. You killed him because he was a police officer.

“You took a simple police investigation, something that happens every single day in our community, and then you elevated it to a violent struggle for absolutely no rational reason.

“Officer Raynor never suspected the execution of your plan until it was too late for him and it cost him his life.

“You, however, achieved your goal of getting blood on your boots and now you are being held accountable for those actions.”

After the judge pronounced sentence, Raynor’s family and supporters filed out of the courtroom.

As Wallace was about to be led out of the courtroom and transported to the county jail, a family member in the gallery said “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Wallace responded.

“I’ll be home one day,” Wallace added.

Wallace can look forward to being home in the distant future because the jury convicted him of the least serious charge he faced, manslaughter. The fact that Wallace used a firearm doubled the penalty to 30 years.

But State Attorney R.J. Larizza and Assistant State Attorneys Jason Lewis and Andrew Urbanak had sought a first-degree murder conviction, which would have exposed Wallace to a possible death sentence.

The trial was moved to Clay County due to the publicity the case received in Volusia County and the community support for the fallen officer.

The jury deliberated for about 15 hours over two days in Green Cove Springs before bypassing first-degree murder, second-degree murder and finding Wallace guilty of the manslaughter.

Wallace’s defense attorneys, Terry Shoemaker, Tim Pribisco and Garry Wood, asked the judge to give Wallace a sentence less than the state guidelines' minimum of 10.5 years in prison.

Wallace is entitled to gain time, which means he will serve 85% of his sentence, his attorneys said.

Raynor's family and co-workers spoke earlier during the sentencing, asking the judge for the maximum sentence.

Daytona Beach police chief: 'It's a gut punch'

Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young extended his sincere condolences to Raynor’s family. He said Raynor’s death had a “profound impact on the entire department” and it “wreaked havoc on morale.”

He said there was a lot of resentment and blame to go around, people saying "if I had done this, it wouldn’t have happened."

“The main part that I can’t get past is that had the defendant just sat down in that vehicle this wouldn’t have happened,” Young said.

Young said he had been the police chief for seven months when he got a call he hoped to never get.

“When you hear the words as a police chief 'You have an officer down,' it’s a gut punch, it’s a gut punch. It makes it hard to breath just thinking about that,” Young said.

Young said that Raynor was just 26 when he was killed and had not spent even 30 years on earth.

He said Wallace’s maximum sentence of 30 years should be “non-negotiable.”

'A wonderful, precious son'

Todd Raynor, Jason Raynor’s father, said Wallace knew exactly what he meant when he used the word "pigs” in the social media post, but then lied on the stand during trial and claimed it meant people who didn’t see him as human.

“Humans do not kill humans because they are asked 'Do you live here' or to sit down. … The defendant is not a human; he has proved this on his own,” Todd Raynor said.

Todd Raynor also read a letter to his son that he had written after the murder.

“We loved the outdoors, we loved our time together, we loved each other unconditionally,” Todd Raynor read.

Raynor’s mother, Margaret Raynor, also read a letter she wrote to her son. She spoke about his honesty, courage and integrity.

She said she still had Raynor’s sports-themed baby blanket.

“I had planned to give it to your baby — the baby you will never father,” she said.

She thanked him for taking his first job where she worked so she could see how honest and hard-working he was. She said he helped her cook and serve meals for the homeless.

She said she had heard amazing things about him.

She showed a sonogram picture of Raynor to the judge and also the last shoes she bought for him.

“You were a wonderful precious son,” she said.

Othal Wallace: 'I'm not a monster'

Othal Wallace stood before the judge and asked for leniency.

Wallace asked Zambrano to place him on community control, telling the judge he would not regret such a decision and that he could be a productive member of society.

He said he wanted to assure Raynor's family that he wasn't "a monster."

“I’m a citizen of this country just like they are and just as every individual in here is.”

He said he didn't have anything personal against Raynor and didn't understand why Raynor approached him.

“In the moment, the fear that I felt is what generated the reaction,” Wallace said. “I’m sorry that it happened, but at the same time I want to be human about it as best as I can. People have the obligation to protect themselves. “

As for his social media posts, he was referring to issues transpiring in the country at the time.

“I made some choice words that I never intended to act upon,” Wallace said.

He said he understands Raynor’s family’s feelings.

“I just want to say to them and ask them if they would accept my apologies, I never had any personal anything against Mr. Raynor. It was just an unfortunate situation," Wallace said.

Wallace's mother speaks in his defense

Several family and friends of Wallace also spoke. His mother, Jennifer Williams, said she wanted to apologize to Raynor's family.

"I'm sorry that it happened," she said.

She also defended Wallace. She said Wallace is a father to five children and he took good care of them.

“My son is not a monster and he’s not a murderer. He didn’t just go out to murder anyone and he’s definitely not a monster,” Williams said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Othal Wallace sentencing: Convicted cop killer gets 30 years