A former Palm Beach Gardens officer has been charged in connection to the death of Corey Jones, after a grand jury found the shooting to be unjustified.
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Jones’ SUV had broken down on an Interstate 95 off ramp before dawn.
Jones, 31, was on the phone with an AT&T roadside assistance operator when Raja approached his auto, according to the probable cause affidavit. The filing of charges against Officer Raja is a positive first step on the long road to justice – but it is by no means the end of the journey.
The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department deferred comment to a statement from city spokeswoman Candice Temple, which said the city wasn’t aware of what was presented to the grand jury or determined by the three independent entities investigating the shooting.
Jones replied he was fine, and Raja prompted the musician two more times before suddenly yelling at him, “Get your f-king hands up!” Corey Jones, an innocent man with no criminal record and a license to carry a concealed weapon, was gunned down for absolutely no reason.
According to the affidavit, Jones never fired a. 380 caliber handgun that was recovered at the scene, which he had purchased legally three days earlier. “Instead, Raja confrontationally replied by asking the single word “really?’ when Jones twice said ‘I’m good” the affidavit said. Raja, 38, was sacked in November and is now facing charges of manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder.
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The former officer was booked into the Palm Beach County Detention Center and can possibly face up to life in prison.
