Florida cop-shooting suspect, linked to Black militia group, nabbed after FBI joins manhunt
Suspect 'O-Zone' Wallace -- accused of shooting Officer Jason Raynor -- is linked to NFAC Black Militia, New Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton Gun Club, a report says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A suspect sought in connection with Wednesday’s gunshot wounding of Daytona Beach, Florida, police Officer Jayson Raynor has been apprehended following a manhunt that involved the FBI, according to reports.
Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young tweeted early Saturday that suspect Othal Toreyane Resheen Wallace, 29, known as "O-Zone," had been taken into custody.
At a news conference later Saturday morning, the chief said Wallace had been captured around 2:30 a.m. Saturday while hiding in a tree house, in a wooded area in DeKalb County, Georgia, east of Atlanta.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The chief also tweeted a photo of the suspect.
Wallace was found with multiple weapons as well as body armor, the chief said, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The property where Wallace was found was owned by militant group NFAC (Not F---ing Around Coalition), the chief said, according to the newspaper.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wallace had been wanted on charges of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer with a firearm, an FBI post on Twitter said Friday night.
The suspect's Facebook page suggested he was linked to the groups NFAC Black Militia, the New Black Panther Party, and the Atlanta chapter of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, which is named for a founder of the 1960s-era Black Panthers, the News-Journal reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Debbie James, a spokeswoman for NFAC Global, claimed Wallace had been terminated from the group in January.
Another rep from the group claimed it had disbanded.
"It doesn't even really exist no more," the NFAC's Brandon Oliver told WKMG-TV of Orlando. "The NFAC, it's pretty much over."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It doesn't even really exist no more. The NFAC, it's pretty much over."
Oliver claimed Wallace had recently devoted his life to God, according to the station.
Wallace has a long criminal history that includes aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, trespassing, resisting an officer and driving with a suspended license, authorities have said.
A Twitter post from the FBI's Jacksonville, Florida, office included two photos of the suspect, one that appeared to be a mug shot from a previous arrest and another that appeared to be a screen capture from bodycam video footage that Daytona Beach police released earlier in the week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The video footage showed Officer Raynor being shot around 9 p.m. Wednesday during a confrontation with a suspect identified by authorities as Wallace behind an apartment building, the News-Journal reported. Raynor was patrolling the area because of residents’ complaints about crime in the area, the report said.
On Friday, Raynor, 26, remained "fighting for his life" in a hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to his head, the News-Journal reported.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The surgery was fairly successful," the police chief said Thursday. "He still has a long way to go."
Raynor has had a record of heroic acts during his career, the newspaper reported.
For example, Raynor was one of several officers who helped convince a distraught woman not to jump from a local bridge in December 2018, according to the newspaper.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Friday, actor Scott Baio posted a video, offering support for the wounded officer.
A reward leading to the capture of Wallace had been doubled to $200,000 on Friday, the News-Journal reported. The additional $100,000 came from a single anonymous donor, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told the newspaper.