Accused cop killer’s trial continues after emotional testimonies bring some to tears

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — The trial for a man accused of killing a Daytona Beach police officer continued Tuesday in Clay County.

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Othal Wallace is accused of shooting Officer Jason Raynor in June 2021. Raynor died weeks later.

Prosecutors played graphic body camera video Monday from a second officer who arrived seconds after she saw her colleague lying on the ground hurt.

It brought Raynor’s family and some jurors to tears.

On Tuesday, social media posts were a major argument.

Prosecutors said Wallace posted on Instagram two hours after the shooting.

Read: Jury selected in Othal Wallace trial

His voice could be heard over a dark screen saying “Black power,” and telling people to not let the police -- or as he called them: “pigs” -- mess with them.

During witness testimony Tuesday, there emerged a clearer picture of what Wallace did and with whom he spoke after the shooting.

His attorneys seek to prove he was acting in self-defense and that Raynor approached him unlawfully.

Tuesday was the second day of the trial that Wallace’s social media activity was at the center of prosecutors’ arguments.

On Monday, they displayed and read posts written by Wallace weeks before the shooting.

“One day, I will take great honor in taking pigs’ blood on my boots,” he wrote.

Read: Trial date set for man accused of killing Daytona Beach police officer

When questioning the state’s witnesses, Wallace’s defense team has been dialing back to the days prior to the shooting.

Daytona Beach police Detective David Dinardi, the lead detective on the case, took the stand Tuesday.

Wallace’s attorney asked him if his reports mentioned what Raynor was doing at the apartment complex on Kingston Avenue the night of the shooting.

“You made no reference of Officer Raynor going after a stolen vehicle,” Wallace’s attorney said. “You made no reference of the reason Officer Raynor approached my client.”

Even so, prosecutors worked to keep the focus on Wallace’s motive for pulling the trigger.

His father, Oltha Wallace, told jurors his son called him and asked to borrow a car that night.

“He just said he had some stuff going on, and he needed to get away,” the defendant’s father said. “He said, ‘Cop shot. I gotta get away.’”

His father said he answered once and then turned off his phone.

On Tuesday, a detective also described his interaction with Wallace when he found him hiding in a treehouse days after the shooting.

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Accused cop killer’s trial continues after emotional testimonies bring some to tears The trial for a man accused of killing a Daytona Beach police officer continues Tuesday in Clay County.

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