Palm Beach Gardens police officer Nouman Raja appears in court Thursday morning, June 2, 2016, charged in the shooting death of Corey Jones. Nouman Raja is being charged with one count of manslaughter by culpable negligence and one count of attempted first degree murder with a firearm. (Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post)
Palm Beach Gardens police officer Nouman Raja appears in court Thursday morning, June 2, 2016, charged in the shooting death of Corey Jones. Nouman Raja is being charged with one count of manslaughter by culpable negligence and one count of attempted first degree murder with a firearm. (Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Diya TV) — Former police officer Nouman Raja, who has been charged with negligent manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder, has been released from the Palm Beach County Jail and is now being monitored in his own home, where he will remain on house arrest, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies escorted Raja back to his home after the installation of an in-house arrest monitoring system.
Raja was arrested Wednesday after shooting an armed man named Corey Jones multiple times. The shooting occurred after Raja approached Jones, who was sitting in a broken-down SUV, in plain clothes after exiting an unmarked police vehicle.
Charging documents say Raja failed to identify himself to Jones before discharging his weapon. Prosecutors say audio of the fatal incident was captured because Jones was on the phone with roadside assistance in the moments leading up to the shooting. Raja pulled up to Jones’ SUV in an unmarked white cargo van, wearing jeans, sneakers, T-shirt and a ball cap, and was investigating a string of robberies that had occurred in the area.
Police initially said both Raja and Jones pulled guns on each other — Raja fired his weapon six times, hitting Jones with three rounds; Jones never fired his weapon, police said.
In the call, which was outlined in the affidavit, Raja is heard asking “You good?” to Jones, and then, “Really?” several times, to which Jones replies, “I’m good.”
Raja is then heard saying, “Get your [expletive] hands up! Get your [expletive] hands up!”
Jones replies, “Hold on!”
Raja is then heard saying, “Get your [expletive hands up! Drop!” before firing three shots in rapid succession, “immediately after he uttered the word, ‘Drop,'” the documents say.
After about 10 seconds, Raja is heard firing three more shots “more deliberately, one shot per second,” the documents say.
Court documents further allege that Jones was attempting to flee Raja’s gunfire, and the officer continued to shoot. “There is no question Jones ran away from Raja,” the documents say. It added that Jones had dropped his weapon before the shooting began.
Corey Jones – Florida musician shot and killed by plainclothes cop in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida early October 18, 2015. COURTESY JONES FAMILY
Raja lied to a 911 dispatcher, saying that Jones was still armed nearly 30 seconds after the shooting had already ended, court documents said.
“I came out, I saw him come out with a handgun,” Raja said, according to the documents. “I gave him commands. I identified myself and he turned, pointed a gun at me, and started running. I shot him.”
Jones’ body was found nearly 200 feet away from his vehicle, with the .380 handgun he had nearly 80 feet away from his body. Prosecutors said based off the distance between the gun and the body, and the heart wound which killed Jones, they believe Raja fired at least three shots after Jones had already dropped his weapon.
Jones had a concealed weapons permit and was legally allowed to carry the gun. His family later said Jones carried the gun because he hauled expensive equipment around town.
A grand jury determined Raja’s use of force was “unjustified.” If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
However, Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association President John Kazanjian said the union disagrees with the grand jury’s assertion — they believe Raja’s use of force was reasonable and justifiable. Further, Kazanjian said the union also believe Raja properly identified himself to Jones before firing.
Raja posted the $250,000 bail that was set during a hearing Thursday.
