Michael Dunn trial: Florida Man accused of shooting teen over music

The circus comes to Jacksonville Monday. But this ring of murder, white-on-black crime and racial tension is not the kind you bring the kids to.

On the high wire is 47-year-old Michael David Dunn, accused of murdering 17-year-old Jordan Davis after an argument over his loud “thug music.” The ringmaster is State Attorney Angela Corey, trying to rehabilitate her national reputation as a prosecutor following her much-criticized failure to convict George Zimmerman in last year’s “stand-your-ground” trial. And outside are sideshow criers in the form of protesters and activists.

According to the details provided by authorities, Davis was parked in a vehicle with three other friends outside a convenience store. At the same time Dunn and his fiancée were going back home after attending a wedding reception, when they stopped at the store and pulled up next to the SUV that Davis was sitting in.

Apparently the music in Davis’s vehicle was playing very loudly, and Dunn asked him to turn it down. One of Davis’s friend did as told by, then Davis asked him to turn it back up. This action of his really enraged Dunn and he began arguing.

A witness also heard Dunn saying: “You are not going to talk to me like that.”
During the course of the argument, things became quite heated and Dunn ended up pulling a 9 mm handgun from the glove compartment and fired multiple shots into the SUV. Davis got struck with bullets in the back and groin and he died due to his injuries.

Dunn later told police officers that he felt threatened at that time and that is the reason why he shot at Davis. Dunn claimed that he saw someone pointing a gun at him from the SUV; however, no weapon was recovered from the vehicle. This argument shows that Dunn will be using the excuse of self-defense in the case and experts say his lawyers are most likely to use the “Stand your Ground” law, which also helped George Zimmerman win his case.

Zimmerman shot and killed a 17-year-old black teen by the name of Trayvon Martin in Sanford in 2012. Even though the teen was unarmed at the time, Zimmerman’s lawyers argued that their client felt threatened and shot at the time in self-defense. On these basis, Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder charges in July 2013.

Agencies/Canadajournal