Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office SWAT team blew up the front door to arrest a man wanted for murder
By: -----
Jacksonville, FL - Police in Florida blew up the front door to an apartment to arrest a man wanted for murder who had been on the run for three years.
The arrest occurred last week in Jacksonville and was the culmination of a multi-state manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s officials said that their SWAT Team, along with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the Atlanta Police Department, located the suspect — Jonathan Soto — at an apartment complex last Wednesday.
With help from the JSO Unmanned Aerial Systems Unit, authorities were able to surround the apartment Soto was hiding in.
Since he refused to exit, officials elected to use an energetic charge to force the door open, JSO said on social media.
Video posted by the sheriff’s office shows the moments the door is blown open, including a slow-motion replay, and when Soto exits the unit with his hands on his head. Per JSO, he surrendered and was arrested on the fugitive warrant for murder and possession of a firearm.
“Three years on the run from Atlanta. It ended in Jacksonville,” JSO said.
Soto, 43, was listed among the Atlanta Police Department’s most wanted criminals. He was being sought in connection with a shooting that took place outside a club in February 2023 that left one of the club’s co-owners dead.
He had been considered by authorities to be armed and dangerous while on the run.