DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Police on Saturday arrested the man suspected of shooting a Daytona Beach officer in the head earlier this week, leaving the officer in critical condition and starting a day-long manhunt.
Police chief Jakari Young said at a news conference early Saturday that the suspect, identified as Othal Wallace, 29, was captured while hiding in a tree house in Dekalb County, Georgia, east of Atlanta.
Wallace was found in a remote wooded area with multiple guns, ammunition, and body armor.
The property Wallace was found on is affiliated with the pro-gun group NFAC, an organization known for demonstrating against white supremacy and police violence, Young said.
Young said Wallace was detained in Georgia Saturday morning but would be returned to Volusia County, Florida and held on a law enforcement officer for attempted first degree murder.
Young credits surveillance and technology for bringing her to Wallace. While the reward for information leading to Wallace’s capture increased to $ 200,000 on Friday, Young said no one qualified for the reward.
Meanwhile, injured policeman Jason Raynor (26) continues his recovery. Young said there was “very positive signs of improvement” in Raynor’s condition.
Raynor had not been operated on Thursday, according to a statement from Daytona Beach police.
“The operation was pretty successful,” Young said at a press conference Thursday. “He still has a long way to go.”
Raynor “is fighting for his life,” said Young, who later described him as a resilient man with “a heart of gold.”
“I can tell you that if he perseveres this cop would do everything in his power to return to his full service and he will continue to serve this community with no trace of malice or hatred in his heart for what happened to him is to serve because that’s just “the kind of person he is,” said Young.
Raynor served with the Port Orange Police Department for three years before joining the Daytona Beach Police Department in February 2019, officials said.
Young said he woke Raynor’s family to tell them about the arrest.
“As you can imagine, there was a big sigh of relief,” said Young. “And I hope they can finally get a few hours of sleep. Now you can only concentrate on Officer Raynor and his recovery. “
A GoFundMe page launched on Friday to support Raynor raised over $ 50,000 from over 700 donors in the first few hours. By Saturday morning, more than $ 170,000 had been raised.
“This hero has a long way to go,” says the GoFundMe page.
Raynor was conducting a “proactive patrol” just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, Young said. The officer had reported by radio that he was investigating a suspicious incident, according to a tweet from the police.
“When he arrived, he contacted a coward … and when he escorted him out of the car, the suspect turned around and shot my cop once in the head,” said Young.
The video of the shooting, released by the Daytona Beach Police Department, shows an officer approaching a vehicle and asking the man if he lives in the area.
The man gets out and asks: “What’s wrong?” when the officer instructs him to sit down again. The man asks the officer to back off before the footage wobbles and a gunshot can be heard.
Several minutes passed and the officer did not respond to other officers calling him over the radio. When the officers arrived, police said they found him lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital.
The suspect fled the scene after the shooting, police said in a tweet, urging the public to look out for a gray 2016 Honda HRV with a California tag.
A search of a nearby home where police suspected the suspect revealed a weapons cache, including at least three ballistic vests, several high-capacity magazines, a rifle and a semi-automatic handgun, Young said.
Although the suspect has served a prison term, online records indicate that he has not been taken to any Florida prison. Wallace’s criminal record includes previous domestic battery incidents and an incident in which he was accused of wielding a gun to threaten a woman.
More than 500 officers from various agencies responded to find Wallace, Young said.
“I’m grateful to every agency that responded here tonight to help us out because they pledged to stay out of here until we get this coward in custody,” said Young.
Featuring: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
