Florida officer’s convictions upheld in fatal shooting
Breaking Legal News - POSTED: 2021/11/10 18:25
Breaking Legal News - POSTED: 2021/11/10 18:25
The Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a police officer convicted of manslaughter and attempted murder for the fatal shooting of a Black motorist whose car had broken down on an interstate off-ramp.
In a two-paragraph statement, the court said it would not consider the appeal filed by fired Palm Beach Gardens officer Nouman Raja, who is serving a 25-year sentence for the 2015 killing of 31-year-old Corey Jones.
Raja, now 44, was the first Florida law enforcement agent in nearly 30 years to be convicted and sentenced for an on-duty killing — and one of only a few officers nationwide.
The decision, signed by five of the court’s seven justices and filed Friday, lets stand an appeals court decision that said a defendant can be convicted of both manslaughter and attempted murder in the shooting of a single person.
Prosecutors declined comment Tuesday. Raja’s lead attorney, Steven Malone, and Brown’s family did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled in April that Raja’s 2019 convictions were for distinct crimes, dismissing his lawyers’ arguments that the convictions were contradictory and constituted double jeopardy. First, the judges focused on Raja firing two volleys of shots separated by about 10 seconds, the last as Jones ran away.
They agreed with prosecutors, who argued at trial that while they could not prove in which volley the fatal shot was fired, the second volley was a premeditated attempt to kill Jones and qualified as attempted murder.