FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ They were found guilty in two of Palm Beach County's biggest criminal trials of the past decade. Now they share the same prison address near Tallahassee.
Wellington polo club founder John Goodman and former police officer Nouman Raja live in separate cells at Wakulla Correctional Institution Annex, records show.
Raja will have to get used to his new home, after a state appeals court this week ruled the 41-year-old felon must stay behind bars.
Raja had sought a return to house arrest while he appeals his recent 25-year prison sentence and conviction in the 2015 fatal shooting of stranded motorist Corey Jones.
Attorneys for the state argued that releasing Raja to house arrest would raise a serious risk he would flee the country and head to the Middle East, where he has "extensive family ties." Raja is a native of Pakistan.
Steven Malone, a lawyer for Raja, told the court "that argument is based on presumptions and prejudices," as Raja hasn't traveled to the "Mideast" since 2001 and his wife and children live in South Florida.
A similar argument was made when Goodman, 55, was appealing his DUI manslaughter conviction and 16-year prison sentence in the 2010 death of Scott Patrick Wilson, 23.
Prosecutors said they feared Goodman, an heir to a Texas heating and air conditioning fortune, would use his vast wealth to land in a country without an extradition treaty with the U.S.
The courts in 2014 rejected Goodman's bid for house arrest, and he wound up losing his appeal anyway.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Goodman is scheduled to be released on Dec. 29, 2028, while Raja must wait for freedom until Feb. 27, 2044.
As one of the state's faith- and character-based prisons, Wakulla Correctional Institution offers special programs for different religions as well as help overcoming substance abuse.
The facility's sign reads, "We never walk alone." The prison advertises programs for inmates "committed to inner transformation" with a goal of "mature and responsible living."
