Jason Futch
reporter2.riverbendnews@gmail.com
A dramatic two-day manhunt involving multiple agencies ended in the arrest of a suspect of a homicide investigation in Santa Rosa County. The suspect, 31-year-old Toby James White, was apprehended by Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) deputies, with the assistance of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Florida Department of Corrections (DOC), Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC). The incident started when CCSO deputies attempted to pull over a vehicle, a Ford truck, near Fort White on Friday, Jan. 24. According to the arrest report, the vehicle had been reported stolen the previous day, Thursday, Jan. 23. During the attempted stop, White refused to stop the truck and engaged deputies on a chase that crossed into Suwannee County and back into Columbia County. According to CCSO, the pursuit ended when the suspect crashed the vehicle on Southwest Old Spanish Fort Road in Fort White. White allegedly fled on foot in an attempt to evade deputies. CCSO engaged the mutual assistance of the SCSO, FHP, FWC and K-9 teams from the Suwannee and Baker Correctional Institutes. Additionally, CCSO and FHP engaged drones, while FHP offered additional air support. Despite attempting to apprehend White, he was nowhere to be located and the search was ultimately suspended. At the time, it was believed that White had left the area. The following day, Saturday, Jan. 25, a tip led investigators with CCSO and SCSO back to the same area that was searched the previous day at the Suwannee-Columbia County line. Mutual support from DOC, FHP and FWC also returned. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and Taylor and Mayo Correctional Institute K-9 teams joined the search. White was apprehended shortly after, and updates were provided to the community through both CCSO and SCSO’s social media accounts. According to sources familiar with the investigation, K-9 deputies located White in a wooded area in Suwannee County. He was apprehended and escorted to a patrol vehicle. He was booked in the Suwannee County Jail on the murder warrant and was additionally charged with battery, trespassing, two counts of resisting arrest and probation violation. He was also charged with public order crimes. “The deputies did a great job in apprehending the fugitive,” Columbia County Sheriff Wallace Kitchings said. “It was a great cooperation between agencies, which paid off and resulted in Mr. White’s capture.” Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John also offered praise to the agencies that assisted in the investigation and apprehension of White. “It was a really good outcome,” Sheriff St. Johns said. “Our deputies, along with others, were able to get a bad guy who was terrorizing people off the street. I just want to emphasize the team effort and the people who lived in the area for coming forward with information. This outcome was what we needed.” Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson also commended the cooperation of the agencies in apprehending White. “Together, we are making Florida communities safer,” Sheriff Johnson said.
