Michael Dunn

While cases in which a defendant argues a Stand Your Ground or Castle Doctrine defense are often the most frustrating to me, they also are the most intriguing. So often this defense is argued in cases of neighbor disputes, which again intrigue me no matter how ridiculous some of them are. But neighbor disputes are not the only cases we hear this argument in. One of the most famous was the case of George Zimmerman in his defense against the murder of Trayvon Martin. In fact, this case was often compared to that one. That is probably why the defendant in this case thought the would surely not be convicted. Of course it happened in Florida, just like the Zimmerman case and just like the Casey Anthony case, two cases that ended in the acquittal of the defendant. I am sure there are plenty of cases that have successfully argue the Stand Your Ground laws. Although, we do not hear about many of them because in a true case in which that law applies the prosecution would have to agree and in the end no charges would be filed. We hear about all the failed cases in which this law is asserted because they are the ones who take advantage of the law and generally twisted it to make it look as if it fit their needs. Even in the Zimmerman case, despite the fact that he was acquitted (a story for another day) the judge had denied that Stand Your Ground applied to the case. But, while researching this case I heard the best explanation for the use of the law..... “All Stand Your Ground cases are self defense but not all self defense are Stand Your Ground cases.”

It is not unusual for you or I to go somewhere and just see or hear things that are aggravating to us. The difference is that most of us would avoid the things as much as possible and distance ourselves as soon as we could... correct? Well, that was not the case here. On November 23, 2012 a Dodge Durango with four teenagers pulled up to a gas station/convenient store in Jacksonville Florida. The driver, Tommie Stornes was driving and when he got out his friends stayed in the SUV so he left it and left the music on. Inside were Leland Brunson, Tevin Thompson and Jordan Davis. Now, I have already called them “teenagers” because that was how they were described but I can only tell you the age of Jordan Davis. He was seventeen and the only reason I can tell you this is because by the time the day was over Jordan would no longer be alive. So in that respect I really wish I could tell you I did not know the ages of any of the boys.

After Stornes went into the store another vehicle pulled into the lot and parked next to the passenger side of the Durango. This was Michael Dunn and his fiance' Rhonda Rouer. They had just come from the wedding reception of Michael's son and had decided to stop at the convenient store to pick up some wine and chips before heading back to their hotel and checking on their dog. Michael and Rhonda lived in Sattellite Beach, some two hours away. As they pulled up to the store the music from the Durango was blaring. Rhonda would later say that as she was getting out Michael had stated “I hate that thug music.” Michael would dispute that he used that phrase, insisting that he did not ever use the word “thug” in his speaking and claimed that he called it “rap crap.” Regardless of the phrase he used it was clear he did not like the music. Rhonda would say that he seemed irritated but not angry when she went inside.

Apparently as Stornes and Rouer were inside the store Dunn and the occupants in the Durango were having issues. Dunn would claim that he “asked” the music be turned down while the boys say he “ordered” them to do so. Tevin Thompson who was sitting in the front passenger seat initially complied. Jordan Davis, who was sitting behind Thompson, wanted it turned back up, and it was. Witnesses outside the store would say that they heard Michael Dunn say “You aren't going to talk to me like that” but that they heard nothing from anyone in the Durango. It seems as if Stornes was likely coming out of the store around this same time but Rouer was still in line at the register. After making that statement witnesses say that Michael Dunn leaned over in his car (he was apparently getting his gun out of the glove compartment) and from the front seat of his car shot into the back passenger area of the Durango. At some point Stornes who may have just made it back in the vehicle as the shots began started back out quickly to avoid the gunfire. As he did so Michael got out of his car, opening the door and taking what prosecutors would call “a shooting stance,” continuing to fire at the Durango. In all Michael Dunn fired ten shots. Nine of those shots hit the Durago and three of those hit Jordan Davis. He was shot in the legs, lung and the aorta.

Stornes would get out of the line of fire and retreat to a nearby parking lot where he would later say Jordan was “gasping for air.” Rhonda Rouer apparently left her things inside the store (I say this because there was no mention of them drinking wine later) and went outside. Michael Dunn told her to get in the car and they left. They went to their hotel where they ordered pizza and drank rum and coke that night. Stornes made his way back to the station to call for help for his friend. While Dunn and Rouer were eating and drinking, Jordan Davis would die.

The following morning Dunn and Rouer would see on the news about the death that had occurred and according to Rouer she wanted and insisted they go home. Whether they had intended to stay longer is unknown. Michael would later say that on the drive home he had called a neighbor who was in law enforcement and discussed with him about sitting down with him so he could figure out how to turn himself in. Investigators would later say that Michael had not called the neighbor, the neighbor had called him and according to Rhonda Rouer the shooting was not mentioned in the call. Whether the police were there waiting for them when they arrived home or they came soon after is not clear but Michael would learn that someone at the gas station had written down his license plate number and investigators knew right away who they were looking for. I suspect that they had staked out the home waiting for them to return. I also wonder if the neighbor, who was said to be involved with law enforcement, already knew they were looking for him and called him to see where he was, never mentioning to him that the police were looking for him. But those are just my own theories.

After he was arrested Michael Dunn would say that Davis had threatened him with a “gun or a stick” and that he was in fear of his life and only fired to protect himself. Later Rhonda Rouer would say that in all the time they had been together since the shooting he had not once mentioned this alleged weapon to her. It appeared at some point that through calls and letters Dunn tried to convince Rouer differently, but he would fail. At some point recordings of these calls and some of the letters were released by the media. In letters and calls to his parents Michael Dunn would talk about the attorney that apparently his parents had hired for their forty-seven year old son and express his dislike of him. One of his biggest complaints was that the attorney had not filed for a Stand Your Ground hearing. Michael also wanted the attorney to get experts to testify for him “including one on 'thug sub-culture' to testify for him. My research indicated that the attorney was frustrated with Michael's demands and there were talks of him threatening to quit but whether he did or not was unclear. I can say that Michael Dunn faced two criminal trials pertaining to the events of November 2, 2012 and that at least by the second one he was declared indigent and appears to have had a public defender. Whether this was the case in his first trial, I cannot say.

Before Michael went to trial Jordan Davis' parents, along with some of the other occupants from the Durango had filed a wrongful death and civil suit against him. It was said that this was settled for “an undisclosed amount” in January of 2014. The attorney for the family in the civil suit published some of the letters that Michael had written while in jail on his website pertaining to this case. He stated he had done so in order for people to see the “real” Michael and his state of mind prior to going to trial. Whether that was his real intent or not I cannot say. What I can say is that while Michael Dunn would proclaim that not only had he not used the word “thug” to Rhonda Rouer when they had pulled into the gas station, this was not a word in his every day language and yet this word was used repeatedly throughout his letters and in his calls that were recorded at the jail. The letters also showed Michael Dunn's arrogance and apparent racism against the four teenagers in the Durango. Now, just recently I mentioned that only on the rare occasion in my blogs do I mention the race of the individuals and I only do so when it seems appropriate. This would be one of those cases. Michael Dunn was white and the teenagers were African American. I mention this now because the letters in which Michael Dunn wrote to family members while in jail often mentioned the “thugs” in the Durango and the fact that he felt he was being persecuted because he was white and the victims (although he did not call them that) were black. He pounded this theme often but to be fair I am unsure this angle was pursued at his trials. In fact, I am uncertain that Michael testified in his own defense at either trial. Something tells me that he did but that it simply was not reported about much. I have a feeling that his arrogance would not have allowed him to sit back and not allow him to have his say.

Now, there is one thing that I have to give the defense a little lead way on in gaining points. As I stated earlier, after his arrest Michael would tell investigators and his lawyers that Davis had pointed “a gun or stick” at him. He would elaborate as time went on. At some point he would claim to have seen “four inches” of what he thought was “the barrel of a shotgun.” Investigators and the prosecutor would argue that no weapon was found in the Durango or in the parking lot they drove to directly after the shooting. The defense would argue that it was several days before either of those things were searched and it gave the occupants “ample time to get rid of a firearm or pipe.” This possibly may be a fair point. However, before I can completely agree with them I would need to know more and let me just state that the only thing I would agree with is that it would have given them time to get rid of a weapon, not that I agree with their client and his behavior. But, while of course the officers obviously did not have the ability to “take the parking lot” into evidence they did have the ability to take the Durango and I have no reason to believe that they had not. If this was the case then while they may not have immediately searched the vehicle it was at least in their possession. But again, without knowing more specifics I cannot say what exactly occurred. I wanted to bring that point up here in the progression because in fairness I think that is the only point the defense had, but even still in my opinion as we go on you may see why I do not really think this mattered or was a big deal, and neither did jury members.

Michael Dunn would be charged with one count of first degree murder, three counts of second degree attempted murder and one count of firing into a vehicle. He would go on trial in February of 2014. I cannot tell you for sure the specifics of this trial other than to say on February 15, 2014, after thirty hours of deliberation the jury returned verdicts of guilty on all counts except the murder charge. On that count they had a hung jury. After the trial one of the jurors spoke out saying that every one of the jurors had discounted Dunn's self defense claim and that while the beginning vote on the murder charge was 10-2 to convict it ended at 9-3 as they could not decide on the degree. The juror would also go on to say that every juror on the panel had agreed that when Michael Dunn had continued to fire at the vehicle as the boys were attempting to go away, he had gone way too far. Almost immediately the prosecution announced they would be retrying Michael on the murder charge. With that being said his lawyers asked that sentencing be delayed until the results of the second trial. I believe they did this on the belief that if they won an acquittal in the next trial they could argue to the sentencing judge that the verdicts were contradictory and possibly get a reduced sentence on these charges.

Michael's second trial would begin on September 25, 2014. By now Michael and Rhonda Rouer were no longer a couple. They had apparently remained together through his first trial but some speculate that since her testimony often contradicted his story that was obviously a thorn in his side. Regardless Rhonda testified at both trials as to what happened leading up to and after the shooting. Something that I found interesting was her testimony that while at the wedding reception the two of them seemed to have had several different types of drinks and here they were going to a convenient store to buy wine. Since Michael was not apprehended on the day of the shooting it can only be assumed that his level of intoxication at the time could only be judged by another person who also admitted to consuming several alcoholic beverages.

While attesting that he had seen a shotgun in the hands of Jordan Davis and claiming that he was in fear of his life, Michael had also said that Jordan had opened the SUV door and was headed in his direction when he began shooting. Witnesses in the area, obviously including those within the vehicle first would claim that Davis, nor anyone else in the vehicle had engaged with Davis or responded to him directly. Secondly not only did not one see Davis open the door to the SUV, the occupants said that the “child locks” were on and with the vehicle running he could not have opened the door if he wanted to. Whether the issue of the “child locks” could be confirmed I cannot say. What I can say is that by all appearance there was obviously a scene made in this parking lot and these two vehicles, nor the occupants were the only people there. Now, I do not know about you, but when people are causing such a ruckus you will tend to watch, even if you continue on your way. And yet no one saw the door of the Durango open as Michael proclaimed. The prosecution had presented the medical examiner who testified that due to the trajectory of the bullets that entered Jordan Davis' body it showed that he was not leaning out of the vehicle or even out of it at all, but they showed that he was crouching down in the back as if he was attempting to avoid the gunshots. The defense would argue that the medical examiner was testifying out of her realm of expertise as she did not have experience in accident reconstruction.

On October 1, 2014 Michael Dunn was convicted in the first degree murder of Jordan Davis. Considering that his lawyers had asked that sentencing from his first trial be delayed until the second trial concluded he received sentencing for both at the same time. He was given life with out the possibility of parole plus ninety years. His conviction and sentence were upheld in 2016. But it appears that in October of 2017 another appeal was filed and is pending.

In nearly every case that I blog when I am nearing the end of my research I visit that state's Department of Corrections website to see what it can provide as far as information about the defendant. Some states have better sites than others but it also generally tells me when and if the person is eligible for parole. Some will give disciplinary actions among other things. From time to time I will not find someone that I am looking for. Generally I would discover that the person had been released or had died while in prison and that is the answer for not finding them. I had not yet gone to the Florida DOC when I came across an article that spoke of the fact that a local news station in Jacksonville had discovered that Michael Dunn was being held in prison in Oregon. There have been a few occasions in which I have found that an inmate who had been convicted on state charges (there is a separate site for Federal inmates) in another state, but generally they are still listed with the state of conviction. In these cases many of the inmates are moved by their request to be closer to family. This article however stated that the new station was doing an investigation on the fact that apparently Florida is in the habit of moving high profile criminals out of the state prison system using what is called the Interstate Prison Compact. While it seems that the Florida Department of Corrections had admitted to having over 3,000 inmates in this program it seems that they stopped short of admitted the more high profile inmates were a part of that. The station had determined this about Michael Dunn through the filing made in October of 2017. I found it quite interesting that after searching both the DOC in Florida and Oregon Michael Dunn could not be found listed. I even wondered if because it appears to be a federal program that allowed him to change states that he might be found on the Federal DOC but he was not there either. Florida claims that this is for the inmate's safety. I am not so sure myself.

I am sure that somewhere in his latest filing that Michael Dunn is still claiming self defense and saying that the investigators and prosecutors did not use due diligence in attempting to confirm his story of seeing a weapon. I would also gander to guess that he is still claiming, as he did in jailhouse calls, that he is the true victim in this case. I truly hope that the appeals court once again denies his efforts and uphold his conviction and sentencing.

Michael Dunn had a lot of choices on that November evening, none of which should have been pulling his handgun out of his glove compartment. He could have moved his car to another area; he could have simply locked the car and went into the store himself. Both of those actions would have distanced him from the “thug music” he so hated. He also could have done what most of us do in these sorts of situations... sucked it up and waited it out. Jordan Davis was likely killed by the first few bullets that hit the vehicle since they were side by side and it was aimed in his direction but Michael Dunn's actions of continuing to fire at the vehicle, even getting out of his car at this point, as the Durango was attempting to leave was, as the one juror stated, going way too far, and he had already gone far enough in my opinion. If Michael Dunn truly felt that his life had been in danger or that he had fired in self defense he would have stayed at the convenient store and called the police himself. Instead he instructed his girlfriend to get into the car and they simply went to their hotel for food and drinks. He did not even sleep on it overnight and think it appropriate to call the police or even turn himself in to them immediately upon hearing that one of the occupants had died. He just simply decided he was done with Jacksonville.

As I stated earlier this case has often been compared to the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. It is thought that the outcome from that case is what kept Michael so confident that he would be found not guilty at trial. What Michael fails to remember is that George Zimmerman called the police.... George Zimmerman had some injuries proving contact was made... George Zimmerman then waited for the police. Now, do not get me started on just what I thought George Zimmerman deserved or how I saw that case (go look, I have blogged about it) but that is far from the actions that Michael Dunn took!