Jones shooting: Judge to rule on ‘stand your ground’ claim
Former police officer Nouman Raja’s lawyers on Tuesday offered another argument for criminal charges to be dismissed under the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law: shooting victim Corey Jones’ autopsy findings.
The defense’s medical expert testified Jones’ fatal wound on the right side of his chest could have happened when the stranded motorist raised a gun with his right hand and pointed it toward Raja during an encounter along a highway off-ramp. That’s what Raja told investigators.
“I can only say what’s consistent [with the evidence], not what actually happened,” Dr. John Marraccini, a former chief medical examiner for Palm Beach County, said on the second day of hearings in the case.
He also acknowledged reports that Jones was left-handed, which Jones’ loved ones and prosecutors say means that Jones wouldn’t have held a gun with his right hand, as Raja said.
Raja’s lawyers have tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s allegations that Raja’s use of deadly force was unjustified when he fired six shots at Jones at 3:15 a.m. on Oct. 18, 2015, in Palm Beach Gardens. Jones, 31, who was trying to get a tow truck after his SUV broke down, was shot in his heart and both arms.
Prosecutors say Raja was negligent in his approach to Jones, never identified himself as a cop or showed a badge, and fired shots when Jones was running away and no longer armed. They argue Raja, 40, is not entitled to immunity from the manslaughter and attempted murder counts, and he should stand trial as scheduled in July.
Raja did not testify during the hearing. His legal team instead used a video-recorded statement Raja gave to investigators four hours after the shooting, when he said he shot Jones because he “didn’t want to die.”
Circuit Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer called for both sides to submit their closing arguments in writing in a week, and she’ll announce her decision in a written order within 30 days.
Before Tuesday’s hearing began, Jones’ paternal family attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters that if Raja’s “stand your ground” claim prevails, it would be “tantamount to the sanctioned murder of Corey Jones.”
Former professional football star Anquan Boldin, a cousin of Jones, added that if experiencing a car breakdown becomes “a death sentence in this country, then we’re all in trouble.”
And Clinton Jones Sr., father of Corey Jones, said it’s disappointing that a “police officer wouldn’t assist my son who was broken down ... he decided to take the wrong actions.”
Members of the Black Lives Matter group have attended Raja’s minitrial without a jury, keeping up public protests that began after the shooting over police use of force directed at young black men across the country.
Marraccini testified that he reached his conclusions based on a review of the autopsy performed by Dr. Gertrude Juste, an associate medical examiner in Palm Beach County. Juste also offered testimony later in the day.
Under questioning by Chief Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis, Marraccini said there were various scenarios as to what could have happened in the shooting, including whether Jones was armed when he was shot in the chest.
“I don’t know if he had a gun in his hand or not,” the doctor said.
The prosecutors called on Jones’ brother, former NFL player C.J. Jones Jr., to testify that because Corey Jones was left-handed, he did almost everything with his left hand. He said his brother used both hands only to play the drums.
Jones Jr. also said his brother bought his .380-caliber handgun a few days earlier “to protect his belongings.” Authorities say the licensed gun was not fired that night and was recovered 41 yards away from his body.
Throughout the hearings, the defense and prosecution clashed over recordings of Jones’ call for roadside assistance, and Raja’s call to 911. Dan Libby, a police practices expert hired by the prosecutors, testified that the audio and evidence contradict Raja’s statements to investigators that he announced he was an officer and was then threatened at gunpoint.