Man who shot black teen to death over loud music gets life imprisonment

by Ben Reilly Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:05 pm

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA — A man convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a teenager in an argument over loud music outside a Florida convenience store was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole.

The life sentence imposed by Circuit Judge Russell Healey was mandatory for 47-year-old Michael Dunn after prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty.

Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder at a second trial in September after jurors deadlocked on the charge at his initial trial in February. Prosecutors say Dunn, who is white, fired 10 times into a sport utility vehicle carrying black teenagers in November 2012 and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis of Marietta, Georgia.

Evidence showed that Dunn fired the shots during a heated argument over the volume of music coming from the SUV carrying Davis and three other teenagers. Dunn was convicted of three counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison in his first trial because he continued to fire into the Dodge Durango as the driver tried to flee the scene. The 60-year sentence is consecutive to the life sentence.

Dunn, who testified at both trials, claimed he was acting in self-defense. Dunn told jurors that he saw Davis roll down the window and flash what he believed to be a gun after the two exchanged words. He contended that he kept firing at the fleeing sports utility vehicle to make sure no one shot back at him.

At Friday's sentencing hearing, Dunn apologized to Davis' parents.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/1017/Michael-Dunn-gets-life-in-prison-for-killing-teenager-over-loud-music

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:15 pm

Wow!

He'd probably get five or so years in the UK.

by Original Quill Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:25 pm

Well, it's a politically explosive case. It comes on the heels of the Trayvon Martin case. In fact, the jury hung Dunn on the murder of Jordon Davis. He was convicted for attempted murder for shooting into a car full of people.

See, the case was also in Florida. And Florida has a southern KKK reputation, if you get my meaning. Trayvon Martin set the whole country off on shooting blacks, as the more recent Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri shows. This was the next black shooting to come down the pike. There are lots of 'em, as we are finding out.

New day is a-coming. People are pissed, and these Florida judges are getting the message.

by Ben Reilly Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:44 pm

One thing that I didn't get from the report -- he was first convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 60 years; then of first-degree and given life without parole. If not for this new conviction, it seems that he might have eventually been eligible for parole.

Glad to see the news, glad he apologized and hopefully we'll have fewer "stand your ground" murders because of it.

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:59 pm

It's a shame really. If you're allowed to carry guns around, there's bound to come a time when there's a temptation to use it out of anger, irritation, or whatever. He may even have believed he was defending himself, but it was so reckless that he couldn't get away with it.

Now a boy is dead and Dunn has also wrecked his own life.

by Ben Reilly Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:01 pm

Man who shot black teen to death over loud music gets life imprisonment 27140575-stamp-truth-with-red-text-over-white-background

Raggamuffin wrote:It's a shame really. If you're allowed to carry guns around, there's bound to come a time when there's a temptation to use it out of anger, irritation, or whatever. He may even have believed he was defending himself, but it was so reckless that he couldn't get away with it.

Now a boy is dead and Dunn has also wrecked his own life.

by Original Quill Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:02 pm

This is the retrial. The case was originally brought as a murder case against Dunn for the shooting of Jordon Davis. Dunn alleged that Davis had a gun, though none was found. Of course, it was in Florida, so the jury bought the white man's version. However, there was no denial that he shot some four times into the vehicle after murdering Davis. So he was convicted of attempted murder, for which he is now in prison.

On retrial, he has been convicted and given a life sentence. They had to do that. The case received so much national publicity that Floridians were embarrassed. At least they have enough sense to know that racism is not met with favour in the rest of the nation.

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:05 pm

What about Shanequia McDonald who shot that man at a service station in Houston? She seems to have got away with it. OK, the guy was confronting her, and allegedly he had a knife, but she didn't seem to be afraid of him.

by Original Quill Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:13 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:It's a shame really. If you're allowed to carry guns around, there's bound to come a time when there's a temptation to use it out of anger, irritation, or whatever. He may even have believed he was defending himself, but it was so reckless that he couldn't get away with it.

Now a boy is dead and Dunn has also wrecked his own life.

This was no accident. These guys are southern, racist killers, who always got away with it heretofore. Now cable news gets the story and everyone finds out what assholes they are.

"Defending himself?" Fook me...he was a natural born killer, just looking for some fresh meat. Most likely, Davis didn't show him the proper respect deserving of a white man, so he 'quite natural had to shoot 'em...y'all know how they are.'

The only consolation you'll have is these are racist states, and that means racist prisons. Dunn will be the minority in prison...won't he have fun?

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:15 pm

Original Quill wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:It's a shame really. If you're allowed to carry guns around, there's bound to come a time when there's a temptation to use it out of anger, irritation, or whatever. He may even have believed he was defending himself, but it was so reckless that he couldn't get away with it.

Now a boy is dead and Dunn has also wrecked his own life.

This was no accident. These guys are southern, racist killers, who always got away with it heretofore. Now cable news gets the story and everyone finds out what assholes they are.

"Defending himself?" Fook me...he was a natural born killer, just looking for some fresh meat. Most likely, Davis didn't show him the proper respect deserving of a white man, so he 'quite natural had to shoot 'em...y'all know how they are.'

The only consolation you'll have is these are racist states, and that means racist prisons. Dunn will be the minority in prison...won't he have fun?

That's all speculation really. I think it's quite possible that he might have felt threatened - maybe because they were young and were playing loud music. He might have been pissed off about that and got in a temper. Anyway, if he hadn't had a gun none of this would have happened.

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:19 pm

I just read that he didn't even stick around after the shooting. Did he know that he'd actually shot the lad or did he think he'd missed or something?

by eddie Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:21 pm

If you're firing at a vehicle that is driving away from you....then you're just a nutcase with a gun.

by Original Quill Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:26 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:What about Shanequia McDonald who shot that man at a service station in Houston? She seems to have got away with it. OK, the guy was confronting her, and allegedly he had a knife, but she didn't seem to be afraid of him.

Not really relevant as it isn't a racially motivated killing. It's just a case of conflicting testimony. Darryl Daniels has a lot to say, but he wasn't a witness. It's a 'he said-she said' kind of case.

What pisses off the nation about the Dunn case is the arrogance that a white man can assume he will get away with murder if his victim is Black. Of course, in hundreds of thousands of cases in the past 150-years, the white man has gotten away with it.

by Original Quill Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:37 pm

Raggs wrote:That's all speculation really. I think it's quite possible that he might have felt threatened - maybe because they were young and were playing loud music. He might have been pissed off about that and got in a temper. Anyway, if he hadn't had a gun none of this would have happened.

Felt threatened?? You think that justifies murder? Just ‘Feeling something?’ ‘Oh, I feel tired…I know, I’ll go kill a niggah. Git me a nice young ‘un, cause they’s always playing that music I dun lak.’

Raggs wrote:I just read that he didn't even stick around after the shooting. Did he know that he'd actually shot the lad or did he think he'd missed or something?

No, he ran off. Look, all crooks run…and all of them lie. It’s universal…look at Oscar Pistorius. He (Dunn) knew perfectly well what he did, he just ran. Cops had to trace him down. Racists are the same as sexists…today he’ll kill a black man, tomorrow he’ll beat up his girlfriend. Look at George Zimmerman. It's a psychological problem...they think they are entitled.

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:02 pm

Original Quill wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:What about Shanequia McDonald who shot that man at a service station in Houston? She seems to have got away with it. OK, the guy was confronting her, and allegedly he had a knife, but she didn't seem to be afraid of him.

Not really relevant as it isn't a racially motivated killing. It's just a case of conflicting testimony. Darryl Daniels has a lot to say, but he wasn't a witness. It's a 'he said-she said' kind of case.

What pisses off the nation about the Dunn case is the arrogance that a white man can assume he will get away with murder if his victim is Black. Of course, in hundreds of thousands of cases in the past 150-years, the white man has gotten away with it.

There's nothing to suggest that the Dunn killing was racially motivated either. The point is that too many people are trigger happy in the US, and some of them are getting away with it. In the case of Shanequia McDonald a black woman got away with it IMO.

by Raggamuffin Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:03 pm

Original Quill wrote:
Raggs wrote:That's all speculation really. I think it's quite possible that he might have felt threatened - maybe because they were young and were playing loud music. He might have been pissed off about that and got in a temper. Anyway, if he hadn't had a gun none of this would have happened.

Felt threatened?? You think that justifies murder? Just ‘Feeling something?’ ‘Oh, I feel tired…I know, I’ll go kill a niggah. Git me a nice young ‘un, cause they’s always playing that music I dun lak.’

Raggs wrote:I just read that he didn't even stick around after the shooting. Did he know that he'd actually shot the lad or did he think he'd missed or something?

No, he ran off. Look, all crooks run…and all of them lie. It’s universal…look at Oscar Pistorius. He (Dunn) knew perfectly well what he did, he just ran. Cops had to trace him down. Racists are the same as sexists…today he’ll kill a black man, tomorrow he’ll beat up his girlfriend. Look at George Zimmerman. It's a psychological problem...they think they are entitled.

I don't think that Zimmerman was guilty actually. Just my opinion.

by Cass Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:46 am

good. hope he rots in there.

sick b'stard went home after he shot them and drank wine.

by Original Quill Sat Oct 18, 2014 7:04 am

Raggamuffin wrote:
Original Quill wrote:

Not really relevant as it isn't a racially motivated killing. It's just a case of conflicting testimony. Darryl Daniels has a lot to say, but he wasn't a witness. It's a 'he said-she said' kind of case.

What pisses off the nation about the Dunn case is the arrogance that a white man can assume he will get away with murder if his victim is Black. Of course, in hundreds of thousands of cases in the past 150-years, the white man has gotten away with it.

There's nothing to suggest that the Dunn killing was racially motivated either. The point is that too many people are trigger happy in the US, and some of them are getting away with it. In the case of Shanequia McDonald a black woman got away with it IMO.

Dunn not racially motivated?? I wonder how many white kids he has shot and killed? How many cars full of white children has he taken a shot into? You run the odds, Raggs. He's a white man, in a southern state, he just shot and killed a black child, and he shot into a car full of innocent black children with no provocation...and you say he was feeling threatened??? Jesus fookin' keerist...maybe Hitler was feeling threatened as well, poor dear.

You can't blame this totally on the absence of gun laws, either. Yes, there are way too many guns in the US, but that goes to opportunity. You have still got to have someone who wants to pull the trigger. What we are talking about here is intent...intent to kill. Someone still has to want to pull that trigger...them guns don't just go off themselves.

These white-on-black killings don't ordinarily happen in California. They don't happen in Rhode Island. They don't happen in Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, New Hampshire or any other of the non-racist states. No...they typically happen in KKK country: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Do you have difficulty making the correlation?

In Germany in the 30's and 40's many Jews were put into concentration camps and killed...do you have a similar problem making that correlation? Don't you get it...they didn't like Jews, and southerners don't like blacks. Don't be absurd...people in the south still shout racial epithets and will flat out tell you they discriminate against blacks...and here you don't believe that their actions are racially motivated?? Haha...I'll bet that pisses even them off...here they take a perverse pride in their racism, and you won't give them the award.

by eddie Sat Oct 18, 2014 6:19 pm

Cass wrote:good. hope he rots in there.

sick b'stard went home after he shot them and drank wine.

As you do.....

by Ben Reilly Sat Oct 18, 2014 8:35 pm

Interesting to pick through the accounts and what they reveal (this is from Wikipedia):

On Friday, November 23, 2012, around 7:30 p.m., four teenage males (Leland Brunson, Jordan Davis, Tommie Stornes, and Tevin Thompson) stopped at the Gate gas station to buy gum and cigarettes. While the driver, Tommie Stornes, was inside making the purchase, Michael Dunn and girlfriend Rhonda Rouer pulled into the adjacent parking spot. Rouer left the car to purchase white wine and chips.[11] She testified that Dunn told her, "I hate that thug music" before she left the car for the store, although Dunn claims he used the phrase "rap crap."[12][13] ( http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/richard-sherman-is-right-thug-is-the-new-n-world.html )

The bass from loud music playing in the teens' SUV started to shake both cars and bother Dunn, who asked for it to be turned down.[11] Front seat passenger Tevin Thompson initially complied, but then Jordan Davis objected and Thompson turned the music back up.[14] According to the other teens, Davis and Dunn continued to talk to each other, with Davis cursing and becoming "extremely upset" while Dunn remained relatively calm. Meanwhile, Stornes returned to the vehicle.[11]

According to Dunn's testimony, Davis threatened to kill him, then opened his car door and pointed what appeared to be a shotgun at him.[13] Dunn, who has a concealed weapons permit,[2] took a handgun out of his glove compartment and started firing at Davis' door, hitting him in the legs, lungs, and aorta. As the SUV backed up to evade his gunshots, Dunn opened his own door and continued firing at the car, later testifying that he still feared for his safety as well as that of Rouer, who was to return to the vehicle imminently.[15]

Investigators later searched the SUV and found no weapons. Dunn's attorney claimed that detectives did not search the area for a weapon for several days after the shooting.[16] Davis' friends testified that he couldn't have opened his door because the child lock was set. Contrary to Dunn's claim that he mentioned the shotgun to her several times, Rouer testified that he never mentioned a gun either that night or the next day.[13][14]

After the shooting, Stornes drove the SUV a short distance away to a nearby parking lot and stopped to find Davis "gasping for air."[11] Rouer returned to Dunn's car and they went back to their hotel where they ordered pizza. Dunn did not contact the police. The next morning, Rouer saw a report about the shooting on the news, indicating that Jordan Davis had died. At her request, the couple abandoned their prior plans and headed straight home. On the drive home, Dunn testified he called a neighbor who works in law enforcement to arrange to speak to him about the shooting, but phone records indicate that the neighbor actually called him, and Rouer testified that the shooting was never mentioned during the call.

by Cass Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:06 am

eddie wrote:
Cass wrote:good. hope he rots in there.

sick b'stard went home after he shot them and drank wine.

As you do.....

quite. I forgot to mention the pizza.

by Original Quill Sun Oct 19, 2014 6:09 am

Yes, I remember that Dunn's account was contradicted on many points by his own witness...his gf. But listen...that's what guilty people do, they lie. There's nothing new about that; every detective story from the beginning of time has had a bad guy who lies.

I made this same point about Oscar Pistorius. That's what bad guys do...they invent stories in order to exculpate.

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