South Florida

Lawyers for Former South Florida Cop Ask for Bail While Appealing Convicting for Killing Black Motorist

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  • Prosecutors said that Raja, who approached the scene of a broken down vehicle, acted aggressively and forced Jones to pull out his weapon.

Attorneys for a former South Florida police officer who was convicted in the deadly shooting of a black motorist asked a judge to allow their client to be released from prison during their appeal process.

The legal team for Nouman Raja was in a Palm Beach County courtroom Wednesday morning asking for Judge Joseph Marx to set a reasonable bond in the case.

Raja's lead attorney told Marx on Wednesday that the fired Palm Beach Gardens officer has surrendered his passport and is not a flight risk. Richard Lubin said Raja abided by all rules while under house arrest before his trial for shooting 31-year-old Corey Jones.

Raja was convicted in the October 2015 shooting death of Jones along Interstate 95. Prosecutors said that Raja, who approached the scene of a broken down vehicle rented by Jones, acted aggressively and forced Jones to pull out his handgun.

Officials say Jones had a valid concealed weapons permit at the time of the incident.

Raja, who was in plain clothes at the time and in an unmarked van, opened fire and killed Jones at the scene. He later told investigators that Jones pulled out his weapon while the FBI said it was never fired.

Prosecutor Brian Fernandes told Marx that Raja abided by the house arrest rules because he thought he would be acquitted. He said Raja now has incentive to flee and has contacts in the Middle East.

Lawyers for Raja, who is currently in state custody in Doral after being sentenced to 25 years in prison last month, filed paperwork for an appeal earlier this month arguing that the jurors were never instructed on justifiable use of deadly force by an officer among several other issues.

Marx will rule later this week.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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