By MIKE SCHNEIDER

Associated Press Writer

PAISLEY, Fla. (AP) – A felon accused of gunning down one sheriff’s deputy and wounding two others was captured Wednesday in the Ocala National Forest after a daylong search by hundreds of law enforcement officers.

Jason Lee Wheeler, 29, was wounded in a gun fight with the officers who captured him in piney woods six miles from his home in rural Lake County, about 30 miles north of Orlando, officers said.

“We were able to flush him out of the woods,” said Sheriff Chris Daniels. He said he did not know the nature of Wheeler’s wounds, but the ex-convict was hospitalized in critical condition.

Wheeler allegedly ambushed the three Lake County deputies outside his home at about 9 a.m. as they responded to a domestic battery call from his girlfriend. He then escaped on a motorcycle, which was later found ditched, said Nick Pallitto, a spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Wayne Koester, 33, died after being taken to a hospital, Pallitto said. Deputies Tom McKane and Bill Crotty were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a hospital.

According to state records, Wheeler has been arrested four times in Florida, mostly for drug crimes, and has served two six-month jail sentences.

Authorities said the incident began when the three deputies arrived at Wheeler’s home to check on his girlfriend’s complaint. Wheeler emerged from the woods and fired a shotgun, touching off a firefight, authorities said.

Sara Heckerman had told authorities in her call that Wheeler “almost killed me yesterday” and was poised to fire on law enforcement.

“My old man has lost it, and he has promised me that if a cop pulls into that driveway there’s going to be a gun battle,” Heckerman said on the tape released by the sheriff’s office.

“He’s a big boy so you might want to bring more than one,” she said.

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