He said he did not call the police right away because Ms. Rouer wanted to go home instead. She is the mother on one son, Brandon Rouer. Davis, who was sitting in the right rear passenger seat, then told his friend to turn the music back up and cursed at Dunn. On the way back to their hotel, the two decided to stop at the Gate Petroleum gas station to purchase a bottle of wine. They also heard from the lead detective in the case with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and several forensics experts. During the last trial Dunn testified that Davis had a gun, and prosecutors rebutted his testimony by recalling Rouer and having her reveal that Dunn never told her that Davis had a gun from the moment she got into his car until the next day when he was arrested. Siniscal said he asked Dunn to come out of his home shirtless and with his hands up. Anyone can read what you share. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. The 9 a.m. start was delayed for more than an hour. Dunn is accused of killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis after an argument over loud music at a Gate gas station on the Southside on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in 2012. These letters were written by Michael Dunn in jail and show a different side than you heard from him and his lawyers. Dunn repeatedly told her to get into the car, and when she did she saw him put the gun he carried in the glove compartment. They didn't call 911, and didn't know Davis had died until the next morning when Dunn was arrested. During an attorney sidebar, defense attorney Waffa Hanania told Healey she had given Knox transcripts of Dunn's previous trial for his own knowledge. "When she was first interviewed, when you would expect someone to tell the truth when their memory is freshest she never mentioned a firearm," said former prosecutor Richard Kuritz. "It just took some time to get through that. The documentary won the U.S. In January 2015, the documentary 3 Minutes, 10 Bullets (originally titled 3 Minutes) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. While no one from Dunns supporters are interviewed, we hear revealing excerpts from phone recordings of Dunns prison phone calls to Rouer, his claims of victimhood and denials. Stornes left his red Dodge Durango SUV running while he went into the store. As the SUV backed up to evade his gunshots, Dunn opened his own door and continued firing at the car in shooter's stance, as the boys ducked for cover. . Rouer testified Saturday that she and Dunn, who reside in Satellite Beach, Fla., were in Jacksonville that day to attend the wedding of Dunns son in Orange Park. Dunn is accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Jordan Davis at a Southside Gate gas station during a confrontation over loud music on Nov. 23, 2012. It was WrestleMania. The murder trial of the Brevard County man accused of killing a teenager over loud music continues in Jacksonville on Monday. Dunn has claimed Davis threatened him with a gun, and he fired to defend himself. He was still discussing whether Cory or the process was to blame and decided it was the process. A former Folio staffer who was a potential juror but did not make the final cut heard the juror criticize State Attorney Angela Corey during jury selection, according to Folio. China's Xi heralds 'unbreakable' friendship with Belarus, an ally of Russia, Nissan recalls over 800K SUVs because a key defect can cut off the engine, Chicago voters resoundingly rejected Mayor Lori Lightfoot's reelection bid, China is buying more U.S. farmland, and some say that's a national security threat, Chinese officials monitor House panel hearing on U.S. economic competition with China, Sequential hurricanes are becoming more common because of climate changes. The state questioned the accuracy of the diagrams, which showed the Jetta at a slight angle and too much room between the vehicles. Randy and Beverly Berry, who lived in Aero Acres in Fort Pierce with Dunn's parents. Rouer recalled Dunn's first words to her. [38], On June 22, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Dunn's appeal and refused to take the case. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. At times teary, his feet shackled, Michael Dunn, the man accused of fatally shooting a black teenager in November 2012 during an argument over loud music, took the witness. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Letters exchanged between accused killer, Michael Dunn and his girlfriend could be problematic for his defense. Dunn's then-fiance testified, saying she heard him say, "I hate that thug music.". [40], Davis' father Ron Davis said, "I'm in constant contact with Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, and I text Sybrina [Trayvon's mother] all the time and I just want to let them know, every time I get justice for Jordan, it's going to be justice for Trayvon, for us. Dunn elaborates in great detail, revealing much of what has been already discussed, saying thugs, threatening to sue the County and rants about Angela Corey. He made a misogynistic joke about now having a judge with balls and compares his case to Zimmermans. The couple came to town to attend the wedding of Michael Dunn's son. In a second trial, Dunn was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Davis and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 105 years in prison, which is two de facto consecutive life sentences.[4][5]. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); and his crew gained permission to film inside the Jacksonville court house, as long as they did not film the jury. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Strong emotions, tears and a bombshell revelation from the former fiancee of Michael Dunn Saturday afternoon followed a dramatic morning session that saw the judge dismiss a juror and give strong words to the crew in charge of the courtroom camera. Dunn stated that he received "ineffective assistance of counsel". At the time of the . He tells his grandmother the appellate court made a chicken shit decision, calls the judge not very bright, and says he is either a victim of reverse discrimination or a political prisoner. He thinks the blacks seem to be calling the shots and the whites who live in Jacksonville know how the blacks behave here. Healey told Knox not to mention anything from the previous trial while testifying.During his testimony, Knox brought forth his opinion that Davis' window, the rear passenger window, was rolled at least partially down. The two had been engaged and living together at the time of the shooting. Rhonda Rouer was enjoying herself on the day after Thanksgiving in 2012 when she accompanied her fiance to his son's wedding. And it had nothing to do with Mr. Davis profanity-laced reply to the common courtesy request Mr. Dunn said he politely made that the teenagers lower the volume on the car stereo, he added. After Simons' testimony wrapped up at around 12:40 p.m., court took a lunch break. The press is made up of a bunch of liberal bastards. He said, Youd think Jacksonville was 90-95% back judging by the make up of the folks in jail here. He also mocked the Rolling Stone article about Jordan. She is a key witness in her boyfriends Michael Dunn- murder trial. We will consult wherever injustice lives. In a letter dated December 5, 2012, Michael Dunn wrote to Rouer about her testimony to prosecutors. [28] Dunn faced a minimum of 75 years in prison on the following counts: a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years for each count of attempted second-degree murder, and up to 15 years for firing into a moving vehicle. The deputy testified Dunn did just that, went to his knees as ordered where deputies placed him in handcuffs. During Simons' testimony, several photos Davis' body were shown to the jury. [51] The murder is believed to have inspired activism of the Black Lives Matter movement. All the calls took place in December 2012 while he was in jail and were either his fiance, Rhonda Rouer, or his parents, Phillip and Sandra Dunn. Meacham testified that$1.25 in currency, a bracelet, earrings, a cellphone, a knife and a watchwere items removed from Davis' clothing.Next on the stand Monday was Dr. Stacey Simons, who worked in the Medical Examiner's Office at the time of Davis' death. On February 3, the jury selection process in Michael Dunn's murder trial will begin. He discusses how he wants to find a slimy civil law lawyer and sue the county for reverse discrimination. We represent the family of Jordan Davis and these letters were made public as evidence in the criminal case. Related to the case (on page 6), he talks about suing the State of Florida and using the money to buy a house. Testimony began with the Brevard County Deputy Carmine Siniscal on the stand, the state's 19th witness. [41] Hendrix spoke of a previous discussion where Dunn asked him if he knew anyone who would "take care of" someone who infuriated him in an unrelated incident, and Hendrix interpreted further discussion as Dunn wanting to send a hit on this person. She testified that she got out of the car and walked into the gas station. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. We look at the testimony of Rhonda Rouer, Michael Dunn's fiancee, in his trial for the murder of Jordan Davis, and how it damaged his self-defense argument. During her cross-examination of these witnesses, State Attorney Angela Corey suggested that these witnesses did not know Dunn in a capacity outside of his parents' community.The last witness to take the stand for the defense on Monday was Phyllis Austin, the ex-wife of Michael Dunn and the mother of Christopher Dunn. From the other side, prosecutor John Guy (who also helped toprosecute the George Zimmerman case) framesthe defenses argument this way: When you cant argue the facts, argue the law; when you cant argue the law, argue the facts. He said he responded to the crime scene.After Rouer's testimony, Sukhan Warf, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab analyst and DNA expert followed. It was the perfect time to come in a little hot!". [40][41] Hendrix described Dunn as arrogant and controlling, adding that Dunn's ex-wives told him that Dunn was violent and abusive toward them, although he never personally witnessed this. [9] She testified that Dunn told her "I hate that thug music," before she left the car for the store, though Dunn claims he used the phrase "rap crap. The state called 27 witnesses in the trial, including the young men in the SUV with Jordan Davis and Dunn's then-fiance Rhonda Rouer, who was also there. In Season 1 episode "The Night Terror Stalked the Town", it is revealed that James was named after a paternal uncle. The next morning, after the couple saw news reports that someone had died at the gas station, Mr. Dunn said he called a neighbor, a federal law enforcement official, and told him he had to discuss something with him when he got home. It looked like a firearm and he treated it like a firearm.. "I think maybe he understands this will be coming into trial one day and he wants a jury who sees it to be thinking he's a good person, he's reading the bible in there," said Kuritz. On February 15, a jury of twelve deadlocked on whether or not Michael Dunn, an armed and inebriated adult, committed murder by killing unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Davis. But when questioned by the defense, she described Dunn as a gentle man who was visibly shaken after the shooting. British director Marc Silvers tautly edited film, which won a special jury award at Sundance in 2015, was picked up by HBO and aired later that year. Musser followed. Juror number four was dismissedfor negative remarks about Corey. ", "Jury Fails to Reach Verdict on Murder Charge in Michael DunnTrail", "Florida Man's Fiance Contradicts Parts of his Testimony in Killing of Teenager", "Song played in Jordan Davis shooting revealed", "Friends describe moments before Jordan Davis died", "Michael Dunn 'Loud Music' Verdict: Mistrial For First-Degree Murder Charge Causes Outrage", "Michael Dunn testifies; fiancee says he never told her about gun; closings Wednesday", "Michael Dunn's girlfriend: 'I heard pop, pop, pop'. Black thug. He also asked his daughter to ask her mom to contact him as a neighbor had told someone Dunn choked her. Instead, it was set off by an escalating sense of menace that Mr. Dunn said he felt after he saw Mr. Davis point a shotgun at him, get out of the vehicle and make an explicit threat to kill him. Dunn was arrested the day after the shooting. In addition to personal injury and wrongful death, our firm handles family law matters and select criminal defense cases. It would be the last good memory Rouer and Michael Dunn would have together. "[10][11], The bass from the loud music playing in the teens' SUV annoyed Dunn, who asked for it to be turned down. Kuritz says despite the way the letter sounds this does not appear to be witness tampering, it simply sounds like Dunn's version of events. Action News Jax facebook feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax twitter feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax youtube feed(Opens a new window), Related: Folio Weekly article leads to dismissal of juror in Michael Dunn retrial, Related:Former fiancee of Michael Dunn takes stand, live gavel-to-gavel coverage on ActionNewsJax.com, For Action News on the go, sign up for Action News Mobile & Email alerts, Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, FHP: Man dies after FDOT Road Ranger rear-ends truck, pushes him over edge of Buckman Bridge, PCSO: No charges in case of mail carrier mauled by 5 dogs, Its a monumental win: Newly approved legislation increases required age to work in strip clubs. [9], Rouer returned to Dunn's car. Dunn and his fiance Rhonda Rouer traveled from their home in Brevard County to attend Dunn's son's wedding in Orange Park, near Jacksonville, Florida. Kuritz says judging by the writing in Dunn's letter he believes the accused killer understand it might be presented in court. He's not a racist. [26], On February 15, 2014, after more than 30 hours of deliberation, the jury found Dunn guilty on the three counts of attempted murder. [55] The film distribution was sold to HBO. Neither parent could have predicted what happened to Jordan the next day, or that it would spark one of the more galvanizing criminal trials in recent memory. The last state witness of the day was also from the FDLE, Maria Pagan, who is an expert in firearms and ballistics. The film refutes any assumptions that crime and racism are the burdens of the poor and disenfranchised: Both Dunn and the boys in the car were comfortable and middle-class. Injury and wrongful death, our firm handles family law matters and select criminal defense cases to a! Of counsel '' threatened him with a gun, and he fired to defend himself inspired. 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