Nouman Raja, accused of shooting Corey Jones, sues home insurer

Palm Beach Post (FL)

Aug. 29--WEST PALM BEACH -- A former Palm Beach Gardens police officer, charged with manslaughter in connection with the 2015 shooting death of Corey Jones, is suing his insurer over its refusal to pay for $48,000 in water damage to his home west of Boynton Beach.

In the lawsuit filed this month in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Nouman Raja claims Prepared Insurance Co. breached its contract when it refused to pay for the repairs of extensive damage to his home after his roof leaked during heavy rains in June.

In a letter attached to the lawsuit, the insurer claimed the damage to the home was the result of problems that existed before the rainstorms. An inspection "found evidence the damages were caused by long-term and repeated seepage with a duration of several months prior to the date of loss," it wrote.

"Your policy only affords coverage for sudden and accidental direct physical loss," it said.

Raja is on house arrest while awaiting a trial scheduled for April. He was charged with manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder nearly eight months after he shot Jones, who was waiting for a tow truck on the off ramp of southbound Interstate 95 at PGA Boulevard.

Prosecutors claimed Raja lied when he called 911, claiming he hadn't yet shot the 31-year-old drummer who was coming home from gig. A call Jones was having with tow truck dispatcher captured the gunshots that were fired before Raja called for help. The call to the tow truck dispatcher also contradicted Raja's claims that although he was in plainclothes because he had been working an undercover detail, he identified himself as a police officer.