Cop killer's death sentence to be appealed

TAVARES, Fla. (AP) — A public defender is taking a Lake County cop killer's death sentence to the Florida Supreme Court.

Court filings show Public Defender James S. Purdy, who handles death-penalty appeals, will argue Tuesday that Jason Wheeler did not receive a fair trial or sentence.

Wheeler was sentenced to death in the 2005 slaying of Lake County Deputy Sheriff Wayne Koester.

Koester and other deputies were responding to a domestic violence call from Wheeler's girlfriend as he allegedly waited in the woods with a sawed-off shotgun.

Wheeler escaped after the attack, sparking a daylong manhunt in the Ocala National Forest. He was later found in the woods. The 33-year-old was shot during his capture and was paralyzed from the chest down.