WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former Palm Beach Gardens police officer who is charged in the fatal shooting of Corey Jones will remain on house arrest while he awaits trial.
Palm Beach County Judge Samantha Schosberg Feurer ruled Thursday that Nouman Raja must remain on house arrest.
"You cannot pick and choose which parts of this agreement that you like and which parts you don't like," she said in court.
However, the judge said she will consider modifying the conditions so that Raja can go outside to mow his backyard.
According to a motion filed by Raja's attorney, Raja has been on house arrest since June 2, 2016, and has complied with all the conditions of the order.
The conditions included that he had to surrender his passport and any firearms, have no contact with any members of the Jones family and no contact with the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.
Raja was also not allowed to seek employment as a police officer or any other position using his law enforcement certification.
"The issue is whether Mr. Raja is a danger to the community or a flight risk," defense attorney Richard Lubin wrote. "He is not."
Raja is accused of fatally shooting Jones, 31, on Oct. 18, 2015, while Jones was stranded on the side of an Interstate 95 exit ramp. Police said Raja, who was not in uniform and was driving an unmarked van, approached Jones and exchanged words with him before firing.
Jones, who was a drummer in a reggae band, was leaving a performance in Jupiter early that morning when his SUV broke down.
"I'm glad that she denied him," his brother, Clinton Jones Jr., told Local 10 News. "I mean, my brother is not here."
Raja testified during the status hearing, as did Jones' father and aunt.
"For him to come here and ask to get off house arrest, this just, it hurts me to my soul," Clinton Jones said.
Raja was arrested in June 2016 on charges of manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm.