VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — On Friday, on the day his killer was sentenced to 30 years in prison, we heard from Daytona Beach Officer Jason Raynor’s family for the first time since he was shot more than two years ago.
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The courtroom for Othal Wallace’s sentencing was packed with law enforcement with added security outside with deputies, police officers and K-9s circling the building.
“I am disgusted by the verdict of manslaughter,” said Raynor’s mother Margaret Peggy Raynor. “The video is the evidence. That’s what I heard.”
Read: Man convicted of killing Daytona Beach police officer sentenced to 30 years in prison
For the first time Raynor’s family spoke publicly about his death and the jury’s verdict against his killer Othal Wallace.
Several members of the Raynor family took the stand to read impact statements to the court, his father took the judge back in time reading a letter they wrote to Officer Raynor.
“You have been honored with certificates of merit for helping those in need in Port Orange, preventing suicide. You saved lost souls,” Todd Raynor said.
Wallace also addressed the court claiming he shot Raynor out of fear for his own life and asked the judge to grant him community control.
“This is not an action that was egregious to them as a family or officer Raynor. I never got to know him as a person. As you saw during the trial we had mere seconds,” Wallace said.
In the end, the judge gave him the maximum sentence allowed – 30 years behind bars with no chance of parole.
While Raynor’s family said they don’t have sympathy for Wallace, they do understand his family will also suffer a loss.
“My son got a life sentence. A real life sentence. They lost someone for 30 years. Who is the winner? There isn’t one,” Todd Raynor said.
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