Ex-cop Nouman Raja sentenced to 25 years in Corey Jones fatal shooting

Ex-cop Nouman Raja, convicted in the fatal shooting of stranded motorist Corey Jones, was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in state prison.

Circuit Judge Joseph Marx punished Raja, 41, for two convictions by a jury last month: manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder.

Raja was found guilty of both causing the death of Jones, 31, and trying to kill him by firing shots that missed at 3:15 a.m. Oct. 18, 2015, in Palm Beach Gardens.

“This has been a heartbreaking case,” Marx said before announcing the sentence to a packed courtroom.

Civil-rights advocates, weary of police killings of young black men across the country, hailed the verdict from the all-white jury as a turning point in their battle against racial injustice.

At the same time, police union leaders shook their heads and called it a “sad day” because Raja was only trying to defend himself when Jones threatened him at gunpoint.

It’s extremely rare for an officer to be charged in an on-duty shooting, with few cases for Marx to look at in comparison to determine the sentence.