WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.- The Latest on the trial of a fired Florida police officer in the shooting of a stranded black moatorist (all times local):
9:15 a.m.
A fired Florida police officer has been found guilty as charged of manslaughter and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of a stranded black motorist. Nouman Raja is the first officer in the state to be convicted of an on-duty shooting in 30 years.
A Palm Beach County jury found Raja guilty on Thursday of the October 2015 shooting of 31-year-old Corey Jones. Raja now faces up to life in prison when he's sentenced.
Raja was in plain clothes and driving an unmarked white van when he drove the wrong way up a darkened off ramp to Jones' stalled SUV. Prosecutors said an audio recording showed Raja never identified himself and approached Jones aggressively, making him believe he was being robbed. They say that caused Jones to pull his legally possessed handgun. Raja then shot him repeatedly.
Raja's attorneys had said he identified himself and justifiably shot Jones because he feared for his life. Raja is of South Asian descent.
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1:09 a.m.
Jury deliberations are headed into their second day in the trial of a fired Florida police officer charged with killing a stranded black motorist.
The jurors will return to Palm Beach County courthouse Thursday to resume deliberating the fate of Nouman Raja. The 41-year-old former Palm Beach Gardens officer is charged with manslaughter and attempted murder for the 2015 shooting of 31-year-old Corey Jones.
Raja, who is of South Asian descent, was in plain clothes when he drove an unmarked van up to Jones' SUV, which had broken down on a highway off ramp before dawn.
Prosecutors say an audio recording shows Raja never identified himself, making Jones believe he was being robbed. They say that caused Jones to pull his legally possessed handgun. Raja shot him.
His attorneys say the shooting was justified.