Killing of Corey Jones

Corey Jones (February 3, 1984 – October 18, 2015) was shot to death by police officer Nouman K. Raja, while waiting for a tow truck by his disabled car, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Raja, who was in plainclothes and in an unmarked white van, approached Jones, who was waiting by his disabled vehicle on a highway exit ramp.

Within seconds, Raja fired six shots at Jones, striking him three times.

After the shooting, Raja falsely claimed to investigators that he had identified himself as a police officer and shot Jones in self-defense; both assertions were disproved by an audio recording of the fatal shooting.

He was naturalized as an American citizen in 2001.

His grandfather was a police chief in Pakistan.

He worked for a small Florida police department for several years prior to joining the Palm Beach Gardens police.

Raja is married with two children.

Jones' older brother, C. J. Jones, was a football player at University of Iowa and from 2003 to 2009 played as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL).

Jones' sisters are Melissa Jones-Elliott and Chanda and Cevon Jones; his stepmother is Katie Jones.

Jones was Black, and had a very large extended family; among his cousins are NFL defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

He lived in Lake Worth, Florida.

Jones attended Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he played the French horn.

His entire family was musical, and played instruments at home and at church.

Jones graduated from Santaluces Community High School in Lantana, where he played football.

Jones then graduated from the University of Akron with degrees in business administration and music.

He worked as a youth mentor at My Brother's Keeper, a nonprofit organization that helps African-American youths.

Jones worked at the Delray Beach Housing Authority for eight years.

He was an inspector/assistant property manager, a job that involved inspecting housing units to make sure they were livable.

The position also required assisting tenants and landlords with communication.

Jones also worked part-time as a drummer.

He played in a band at his church, the Bible Church of God in Boynton Beach, where his grandfather, Sylvester Banks Sr., is a bishop.

He also played with a band called Future Prezidents with bandmates that included Boris Simeonov and Mathew Huntsberger.

Nouman Raja is a Muslim of Pakistani ancestry.

Jones was born to father Clinton Jones Sr., who renovated houses, and mother, Anita Banks, a guidance counselor, who died from cancer in 2006.

On Sunday, October 18, 2015, at about 3:15 am, Nouman K. Raja, working as a plainclothes police officer wearing a T-shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap, in an unmarked white van with tinted windows, stopped by what he said was an abandoned vehicle at the southbound exit ramp of Interstate 95 and PGA Boulevard.

Raja, on duty doing burglary surveillance, said he was confronted by an armed subject, so he discharged his weapon and killed the man later identified as Jones.

In total, Raja discharged his weapon six times and hit Jones with three shots.

One bullet entered the side of Jones' body, went through his aorta, killing him, and ended up in the top part of his torso, while the other bullets went through his body, hitting his left elbow and right shoulder.

Jones' arm was broken from the impact of one of the bullets.

Raja was not wearing a body camera and his vehicle was not equipped with a dashcam.

Jones, who was driving a Hyundai Santa Fe, had car trouble and first called his brother, C.J. Jones, who offered to come help him.

Jones was due in church the next morning and needed his car so he told his brother not to come pick him up.

Jones' bandmate, Huntsberger, came to help, bringing oil, but they were not able to get the car running.

Jones called for a tow truck; with that assurance, Huntsberger left.

Jones had been returning home to Boynton Beach, after playing a show in Jupiter, Florida, at Johnny Mangos Tiki Bar and Grill.

He had been playing with his band, the Future Prezidents.

On June 1, 2016, Raja was charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm.

He was convicted of the charges on March 7, 2019, following an eight-day jury trial.

Raja was sentenced to 25 years in prison on April 25, 2019.