Fired officer Nouman Raja who killed stranded black motorist is found guilty of attempted murder and manslaughter

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A Florida jury found a fired police officer guilty of manslaughter and attempted murder in the October 2015 shooting death of Corey Jones, a 31-year-old stranded motorist.

It is the first time in 30 years that an officer in Florida has been convicted of an on-duty shooting.

Nouman Raja, 41, faces life in prison.

The former Palm Beach Gardens police officer was fired shortly after the shooting.

Jones, a well-known musician in the South Florida community, had been on his way home from a Saturday night gig with his band when his car broke down on an Interstate 95 off-ramp. His brother and a band mate tried to help fix the car, but when they were unsuccessful, Jones waited alone for a tow truck.

Around 3:15 a.m., Raja, who is of South Asian descent, drove the wrong way up the ramp in an unmarked white van. He was wearing plain clothes, and prosecutors said an audio recording showed Raja approaching aggressively and not identifying himself.

Raja thought he was investigating an abandoned car, officials said at the time. Jones thought he was being robbed, prosecutors argued.

Jones pulled out a handgun he had legally purchased just three days earlier, police said.

Raja shot him multiple times.

Raja’s attorneys argued at his trial in Palm Beach County that the shooting was justified because he feared for his life.