Loud Music Murder Trial.

A Florida jury is now deliberating the fate of a white Florida resident accused of murdering a black teen during an argument at a gas station over the teen’s loud music. The jury’s decision could come today in this highly watched and highly publicized case.

Michael Dunn claims he acted in self-defense when he opened fire on four teenagers in their SUV in Jacksonville back in November of 2012. Prosecutors have charged Dunn with first-degree murder in the death of 17 year old Jordan David, and three counts of attempted murder for the other three teens inside the SUV.

Many are comparing this case to the George Zimmerman case where Zimmerman claimed self-defense for the murder of Trayvon Martin after he instigated an altercation with the young black youth.

But defense attorney Cory Strolla doesn’t think the cases are similar. He points out that there was an actual physical altercation between Zimmerman and Martin, but that there was no physical altercation between the teens who were all inside the SUV and Dunn, who was inside his own vehicle.

Dunn claims the youth “could have had a gun” and he for that reason he felt threatened. He took his 9mm out of the holster and fired 10 rounds into the SUV, 3 of which were fired as the SUV was attempting to flee from Dunn’s gunfire.

Strolla claims his client did not wait to become a victim, but Assistant State Attorney Erin Wolfson feels Dunn’s claims don’t add up. She says Dunn’s claim of feeling threatened don’t line up with his actions. Dunn never attempted to take cover or leave the area. In fact, he opened his car door. Dunn also never call the police after the incident. He left the scene of the crime, went back to his hotel and walked his dog. He also returned to his house the next day, which was two hours away and still never bothered to call 911 regarding the incident.

Dunn claimed he fired in self defense after the teen threatened him with a gun. But there was no gun. Wolfson also pointed out to jurors that Dunn didn’t even mention the mystery gun to his fiancée, who was at the scene with him, until more than a month after the incident.

Wolfson told jurors that in fact, Dunn didn’t tell anyone about the incident because he thought he had gotten away with murder. Wolfson said Dunn had no idea that a witness had taken down his tag number.
Dunn stated he described the music the teens were listening to as “rap crap” in the parking lot. Dunn rolled down his window and told the teens to turn the music down. They initially complied but then turned the music back up.

Dunn became angry when the teens would not obey his request. An argument ensued and when Dunn could not make the teens turn the music down, he pulled his 9mm piston from his glove compartment and began shooting at the SUV. Of the ten shots fired, 3 were shot into the back of the SUV as it was fleeing the hail of gunfire. Davis was in the back seat and was struck by the 3 bullets.

Prosecutors presented testimony and evidence to the jury that the argument was mostly between Dunn and Davis. And the door to Davis’ seat had the child safety locks activated, so Davis could not have just opened the door to get out, which creates more inconsistencies for Dunn’s claims of being threatened.
As of this writing, the jury had not yet reached a verdict. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of this trial.

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Author: Patrick Hill

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