A military veteran accused of murdering an Ocala man who was gardening in his front yard earlier this year will remain behind bars after a judge denied his request for bond on Wednesday.
Isaac Ezekiel Toye, 29, appeared in court for a hearing on April 29, during which a motion to set or reduce his bond was denied.
According to court records, Toye will continue to be held with no bond as the case proceeds toward a pretrial conference scheduled for July.
Toye was arrested on January 7 and charged with homicide and two counts of aggravated assault following the shooting death of 64-year-old Harold Whitt Harper.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:35 p.m. in the 900 block of SE 3rd Street, near Ocala’s Historic District. According to the Ocala Police Department, Toye was spotted walking in the area dressed in all black when he allegedly motioned for a motorist to stop and “racked the slide” of a pistol.
Minutes later, a second 911 call reported a shooting a block away. Responding officers found Harper lying in his front yard suffering from fatal gunshot wounds; he had been gardening at the time of the attack. Toye was apprehended two blocks away in possession of a pistol.
Ocala police at the scene of the fatal shooting that occurred on Wednesday, January 7.
Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken previously confirmed that Toye is a military veteran who served less than 18 months of an eight-year enlistment in the Army.
While Toye had allegedly attempted to purchase a firearm from a local store two days prior to the shooting, he was unable to take possession of it due to a mandatory three-day holding period.
Detectives believe the shooting was a “random act of violence” and have found no indication that Toye knew the victim.
Surveillance footage placed Toye in the downtown area minutes before the shooting, though police noted that some individuals with information regarding his transportation from Marion Oaks to Ocala have been “completely uncooperative” with the investigation.
Toye had previously entered a written plea of not guilty in February. Following the denial of bond, he remains in custody at the Marion County Jail.
Harper was a respected professional and deeply devoted family man whose roots in the Ocala community spanned decades. A 1979 graduate of Forest High School, he was a standout athlete who played baseball at both the College of Central Florida and Winthrop College before embarking on a successful, 40-year career in the local real estate and insurance industries.
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