Here is a story I thought might interrest some...
LAKE KATHRYN HEIGHTS, Fla. -- Police have captured the heavily armed man who allegedly opened fire on three Lake County deputies Wednesday, and he has been transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
He was captured about six miles southeast of his home, according to the Lake County Sheriff.
The shooting occurred near county Road 42 and Georgia Street Wednesday morning in Lake Kathryn Heights, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
Police have been searching all day for Jason Lee Wheeler, 29, of Paisley. Images from Chopper 2 showed officers loading the suspect onto an airboat on a lake adjacent to Wheeler's property. He was then loaded into the back of a pickup truck, then driven to a field. The suspect was loaded onto a medical helicopter and flown to Orlando.
"We started tracking a trail right after we did the search of his residence. We followed the trail in the direction we thought it was. We put a lot of people and resources in the area, and we were able to flush him out of the woods. There was a short firefight, and he's under arrest," Daniels said.
Daniels said the suspect identified himself as Wheeler to the deputies upon his capture. No deputies were injured during Wheeler's capture. Wheeler is in critical condition at ORMC.
Wheeler allegedly shot and killed Deputy Wayne Koester and injured two others Wednesday morning, according to Lake County Sheriff Chris Daniels. The officers are being treated at Florida Hospital Waterman in Tavares.
Daniels said Wheeler's girlfriend called the sheriff's office to report a domestic dispute. Officers met her at a neighbor's house next door. After talking with her, the officers went to the suspect's home and began roping off the crime scene because they believed he was not home.
Daniels said Wheeler emerged from the woods and shot Koester once in the head. Wheeler ran back into the woods, and the two other deputies engaged in a firefight with the suspect. After a short time, Daniels said the officers heard Wheeler flee on a motorcycle.
"The deputies were fired upon unprovoked and they did not have an opportunity to challenge the suspect," Daniels said.
A neighbor said Wheeler owns three guns. Daniels said Wheeler was armed with at least one shotgun when he took off, and they methodically combed the Ocala National Forest all day.
Wheeler is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and he weighs about 240 pounds. He has brown hair and a goatee, and he has the word "Crazy" tattooed across his chest.
Koester, 33, just joined the Lake County Sheriff's Office in October. Before that, he was with the Umatilla Police Department.
He was also a member of the Florida Army National Guard. He belonged to Battery B, 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery, stationed in Deland.
He joined the Guard in 2002 as a first-term soldier without previous military service. He was trained as a Stinger missile crewmember, and he recently trained as a crewmember for the Avenger system, a Humvee-mounted Stinger launch vehicle designed for air defense, according to a spokesman for the Florida Army and Air National Guard.
Koester was not on federal active duty, although he did serve on state active duty during last year's four hurricanes.
Victim's Wife Was Working In ER When Husband Brought In
One of the injured officers is the brother of Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty. Deputy Bill Crotty, 48, is married and the father of two. He was shot in the leg, but he is expected to fully recover from his injuries.
Crotty has been with the Lake County Sheriff's Office for about a year and a half. He has a lifelong career in public safety, including four years with the Department of Juvenile Justice. Before that, he was with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office and the Apopka Police Department.
"Ever since he was a little boy, this is the line of work he wanted to get involved in," Mayor Crotty said outside of the hospital.
The mayor said his brother, who lives in Apopka, can't wait to get back on the job. When Crotty was brought to the hospital, his wife was working in the emergency room.
Deputy Thomas McKane IV, 26, suffered injuries to his leg, shoulder and face. His father told NewsChannel 2 that his son is a fourth-generation law enforcement officer. His father called McKane's injuries "minimal" and said he expects him to return to work as soon as possible. McKane is expected to be released soon. His sister also works at the hospital where he was treated.
Koester's brother, Vic, said his younger brother loved his job.
"My brother is going to be missed around here. His main goal in life was to provide for him and his family and to take care of the community. That was Wayne's job. He took it 100 percent all of the time. It didn't matter if he was on duty or off duty. When he was a baby, growing up, that's all he wanted to do, was be a police officer," Victor Koester said.
Koester said his brother had never been in a dangerous situation on the job before.
Two Schools Were On Lockdown
County Road 42 and state Road 44 were shut down for most of the day. Police put Spring Creek Elementary on lockdown and the principal of Seminole Springs Elementary decided to lock down that school, too. Janice Karst, of Lake County Schools, said all the children are safe, and during school hours, no one was allowed in or out.
The school district said because C.R. 42 east of Paisley remained closed to vehicular traffic, no school buses ran in that area Wednesday afternoon. Students living in that area who normally ride the bus had to remain at their designated school until their parents picked them up.
All other students were released at normal times and buses ran their normal schedule, Karst said.
During the search, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller advised everyone in the area to stay inside their homes.
"Someone very dangerous is out there. We don't want (anyone) else to get hurt," Miller said.
She said people should not be outside looking at all the activity.
Wheeler Told Neighbors He Would 'Shoot' Police
The area is near the Ocala National Forest, near the Lake-Volusia county line.
About 500 officers from 16 law enforcement agencies participated in the search. They used all available resources, including bloodhounds, an armored vehicle, amphibious vehicles and a command post vehicle from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
The Lake County sheriff said Gov. Jeb Bush has called several times for progress reports. Daniels said local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are participating in the search.
Daniels said SWAT teams from Volusia, Lake, Seminole and Orange counties secured and searched Wheeler's home using a search warrant. Daniels also said that they secured a neighbor's home that they thought Wheeler may have tried to go to.
Wheeler's neighbor told NewsChannel 2's Bob Kealing that three weeks ago, Wheeler said if the police came back to his house, he would "shoot them." Several of Wheeler's neighbors and former co-workers told Kealing that there was a history of domestic violence between Wheeler and his wife.
Another neighbor reported seeing Wheeler at a convenience store on Tuesday, and the person said he appeared to be acting normal and not agitated.
The friends said Wheeler was a tree trimmer, but he has been having a hard time finding work since the hurricanes and he's currently unemployed.
Wheeler has a 10-year criminal record, including four arrests in Florida. His most recent arrest occurred in 2001 when he was arrested for possession of marijuana and fleeing officers.
Police said Wheeler has children, and the Florida Department of Children and Families has been called to his house before.
