FL Cop found Guilty in Murder of stranded motorist

Bliss · Mar 8, 2019

Family members of Corey Jones wept with joy, hugged one another and raised their hands in praise on their way out of a Florida courtroom after the officer who shot the 31-year-old man was found guilty this morning.

Jones' brother, former NFL player Clinton C.J. Jones Jr, said the family knew his sibling was innocent from day one.
'From his character alone, it's just impossible for him to do that,' he said during a news conference.

C.J. also expressed his gratitude to the jury and said the guilty verdict shows justice was served.

Nouman Raja, 41, was convicted of manslaughter and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of the stranded black motorist, becoming the first officer in the state to be be held criminally accountable for an on-duty shooting in 30 years.

A Palm Beach County jury of four men and two woman deliberated for more than four hours spread over two days before convicting Raja of the October 2015 shooting of the 31-year-old Jones. v v v v

'It was truth that convicted him. It was truth that brought him to justice. It was the truth that sent him to jail,' the victim's father, Clinton Jones Sr, told reporters outside. 'It was truth that gave us justice for Corey.'

Raja, dressed in a grey suit and blue tie, looked distraught as the jury read the verdict. He was then was placed in handcuffs and escorted out of the courtroom. He now faces between 25 years and life in prison when he's sentenced on April 26.

Raja, who is of South Asian descent, was in plain clothes when he drove an unmarked van up to Jones' SUV, which had broken down on a highway off ramp before dawn.

Prosecutors said an audio recording shows Raja never identified himself, making Jones believe he was being robbed.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Brian Fernandes told jurors Raja escalated what should have been a routine interaction at 3.15am on October 18, 2015, into a deadly confrontation.

Raja drove his unmarked van the wrong way up an off ramp, stopping feet from Jones' broken-down SUV. The prosecutor said Raja never said he was a cop and acted so aggressively that Jones, 31, had to think he was about to be carjacked or killed.

'Corey Jones is a victim. ... and that defendant right there made him a victim,' Fernandes said, pointing at Raja. He called Raja 'a disgrace' to other police officers.

'He chose to violate the most precious rights of a person. With great power comes great responsibility.'

Raja's attorney, Richard Lubin, painted a different picture. He said that no matter what the officer did, he would not have fired had Jones not pointed a gun at him.

Raja 'didn't leave home that night trying to hurt anybody or be involved in a horrible turn of events that began when Corey Jones pulled a gun and pointed it at his head,' Lubin said.

Jones, he said, 'couldn't take that back".

Jones, a housing inspector and part-time drummer, had been returning home from a nightclub performance when his vehicle stalled. He had purchased a .38-caliber handgun days earlier to protect his $10,000 drum set, which was in the SUV.

Raja was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap as part of an auto burglary investigation team when he spotted Jones' SUV.

He thought it was empty, but Jones was inside, talking to a tow truck dispatcher on a recorded line.

Raja's supervisor testified the officer had been told to don a police vest to identify himself if he approached a civilian. He did not. Fernandes also questioned why Raja didn't pull out the badge he had in his pocket.

The recording shows Jones saying 'Huh?' as his door opens. Raja yells, 'You good?' Jones says he is. Raja replies twice, 'Really?' with Jones replying 'Yeah.'

Suddenly, Raja shouts at Jones to raise his hands, using an expletive. Jones replies 'Hold on!' and Raja repeats his demand.

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The transcript of the call:

COREY JONES' CALL TO ROADSIDE HELP
Thank you for calling AT&T Roadside Assistance, this is Maddie. May I have your mobile number to better assist you?

561 573 2815.

OK give me one moment to pull up the account. What's the name on it?

Corey Jones

Okay. I see Delray, Delray Beach House.

Yeah.

All right. And what can I do for you tonight?

I need to get a tow. I'm broke down.

Is this mobile number with the vehicle?

What's wrong with the vehicle?

It won't start.

Is it a four-wheel drive?

I think it's two-wheel. I think.

What's the address of the vehicle location?

I'm off the PGA southbound exit. On 95.

On 95?

I-95, exit PGA southbound.

OK. Is there any uh, hold on, is there any buildings, landmarks anything like that that I could use to pinpoint your address?

(Car door opens, triggering alarm within).

Corey Jones (to Raja): 'Huh?

Raja: 'You good?'

I'm good.

Really?

Yeah I'm good.

Really?

Yeah.

Get your fucking hands up! Get your fucking hands up!

Hold on! Hold on!

Get your fucking hands up! Drop!

(First three shots are fired)

AT&T Operator: 'Oh my gosh'.

(Another three shots are fired)

Operator to colleague: 'Um - there's gunshots.'

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NOUMAN RAJA'S CALL TO 911

Drop that fucking gun right now!

Operator: 911

Hey, this is Gardens, this is Gardens Alpha 1. I just got one down. I just shot one person. I'm at the off-ramp right behind Double Tree. Black male.

I'm on the off-ramp. 95 southbound off-ramp off the Double Tree.

I'm, I am not covered in anything right now.

Send me some units, I got one down, I got one man down. I got Fire Rescue, standby.

All right, Raja, you all right?

Yeah man I'm good, I'm good. Drop the gun!

On the off ramp right?

On the off ramp. Get me some units. I've lost contact with him. I don't know where he is.

Alright, you got it buddy. Where's your radio? Where's your radio Raj?

My radio is in the van right now, I don't have it with me that's why I'm on the phone.

All right, stay on the phone buddy. What we uh, what's the guy look like?

Black male wearing all black, dreds, had a silver handgun in his right hand.

I came out, I saw him come out with a handgun. I gave him commands. I identified myself and he turned, pointed the gun at me and started running. I shot him.

I've lost contact. 65 on the 28 on the, on the SUV? It's gonna be a Florida 28 of 286 Papa Romeo Hotel 286 PRH.

Don't know yet. Spike put that out now. All right, it's an 08 Hyundai Pop 2, 286 Papa Romeo Hotel?

Yeah, SUV.

Yeah it's out of Lake Worth. It's not stolen or anything. All right, stay on the line. Where's the van at?

Right on the off-ramp, you'll see my van right there. I'm actually, I'm walking back to my van. I'm back in my van at the car.

He's hit at least three to four times.

Alright you got your radio now?

No, no, no, no, no, hold on, not yet, not yet.

Alright, alright. I got units coming.

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Prosecutors believe Jones pulled his gun and ran. Raja fired three shots and Jones ran down an embankment. Prosecutors say he threw his gun, which was found 125 feet from his body, but Raja fired three more times, 10 seconds after the first volley.

Jones was killed by a bullet through his heart. A medical examiner testified that Jones would have dropped feet from where the fatal shot struck him. He also had been shot once in each arm.

Prosecutors say Raja, not knowing of the tow-truck dispatcher recording, tried to deceive investigators.

He told them in a video-recorded interview hours after the shooting he said 'Police, can I help you?' as Jones jumped from the SUV. He told investigators Jones then leapt backward and pointed his gun, forcing him to fire.

Raja said Jones ran but turned and again pointed his gun, forcing him to fire the second volley.

Lubin said Jones' initial 'Huh?' shows Raja identified himself -- the tape picked up something unintelligible and faint.

Lubin said if Raja was trying to deceive investigators, he would have put on the vest and planted the gun in Jones' hand before other officers reached the scene.

'People can make mistakes without it being a lie,' Lubin said.

Raja is the first Florida police officer in 26 years to be tried for an on-duty killing.