Nouman Raja, a former South Florida police officer, has been found guilty of manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a stranded African-American motorist in 2015.
The four-man, two-woman jury returned the verdict of manslaughter with a firearm and attempted first-degree murder, according to The Associated Press, after about four hours of deliberation this morning.
Defense attorneys argued that Raja shot Corey Jones in self-defense after Jones, who had a concealed weapons permit, pulled a gun. Prosecutors claimed Raja started the confrontation because he was working undercover and never identified himself as a police officer, which led Jones to believe that Raja was a robber.
“This verdict is a vindication of the good man that was Corey Jones, and an utter repudiation of a criminal who tried to hide behind a badge,” read a statement from the attorneys for the Jones family. “Though the Jones family will miss Corey for the rest of their lives, they can finally start to heal knowing that justice has finally been served.”
Raja becomes the first police officer in Florida to be convicted of an on-duty shooting in 30 years.
