The story of the man who claimed "self-defense" after killing an unarmed man.
The Murder of Jordan Davis
On November 23, 2012, a 17-year-old black student named Jordan Davis stopped at a Gate Petroleum gas station along with three friends (Leland Brunson, Tommie Stornes, and Tevin Thompson). After pulling into the parking lot, Tommie Stornes went into the store alone, leaving Brunson, Thompson, and Davis alone in their red SUV. As they waited, the teenagers reportedly played music very loudly. Shortly after this, a 45-year-old man named Micheal Dunn pulled into the adjacent parking space with his fiancée, Rhonda Rouer. After hearing the blaring music, Dunn told Rouer, " "I hate that thug music." Rouer then went into the store to purchase some wine and chips. After being asked by Dunn to turn the volume down, Tevin Thompson initially complied and turned the volume down, but Jordan Davis soon resisted and turned the volume back up. After a short argument between Dunn and Davis, Dunn removed a handgun from his car's glove compartment and began firing shots at Davis. The SUV immediately backed up to evade Dunn, but Jordan had already been hit in the legs, lungs, and aorta. As the car backed up and the boys took cover, Dunn opened his door and continued firing at the vehicle. Following the shooting, Stornes drove the SUV to a different parking lot and recalled seeing Davis "gasping for air." After ceasing fire, Rouer returned to Dunn's car, and they returned to their hotel, where they ordered pizza. Dunn did not contact the police until hearing about Davis' death in the news the next day. After his arrest, Dunn claimed that Davis threatened him with a "gun or a stick." Dunn was charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of first-degree murder.
The Trial of Micheal Dunn
Micheal Dunn's trial began in early 2014. His defense was led by Terry P. Roberts, who wished to prove adequate provocation by Jordan Davis to justify using a deadly weapon and connect it to Dunn's claim of self-defense. In closing arguments, Roberts specifically brought up the stand-your-ground law in Florida, primarily due to its use to acquit George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin just a year before this trial. In addition, the prosecution wanted to prove that Dunn had unnecessary prejudice toward the teenagers from his first look at them. This was shown by Rouer's testimony when she said that Dunn expressed negative remarks about the teens before she left the car.
Furthermore, Rouer also testified that Dunn never mentioned a gun that night or the next day, even though Dunn claimed that he had said it to her several times. On February 15, 2014, after more than 30 hours of deliberation, the jury found Dunn guilty on the three counts of attempted murder. But The jury could not reach an agreement on the charge of first-degree murder, which led to the declaration of a mistrial on that count. At the end of his retrial in late 2014, Dunn was found guilty of the first-degree murder charge and was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 90 years.