The derogatory comments came in aFolio Weekly interviewwith an excused potential juror. She was still engaged to Dunn at the time. He makes a joke to his grandmother about women being interested in his fiance, and then told his grandmother he could fall into a pile of shit and step out smelling like a rose. About the case, he discusses the misinformation and outright lies being reported by the media. Despite saying he doesnt use the word thug, on page 6 he uses it to his own grandmother and specifically calls the surviving boys, thugs.. According to online records, the couple wedded May 22, 1989 in Indian River, Florida. [56], Davis's story also features in the 2015 documentary film The Armor of Light, the directorial debut of Disney heir Abigail Disney. Siniscal said he had a "high-risk" arrest warrant for Michael Dunn. Rouer, Dunn's former girlfriend, was the fifth witness to take the stand in the third day of testimony of the murder retrial. Now I'm back to reading the Bible and playing solitaire.". The defendants words were also eroded by prosecutors who said the version of events Mr. Dunn gave jurors was different from what he told the police and wrote in a series of jailhouse letters to relatives. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Her priority at the moment is to start a family and she said that she does not want to make promises when she does not know how she's going to feel in the future. She testified that she got out of the car and walked into the gas station. He is still referring to his demands to his lawyer Cory Strolla and Cory apparently was determined to withdraw if Dunn continued to force him into a premature trial date and again refers to Davis history with authority figures, as if he was one. On Saturday defense attorney Waffa Hanania tried to mitigate that by getting Rouer to admit that it was her idea to order the pizza, and she wasn't sure if Dunn ate any of it. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. She is the mother on one son, Brandon Rouer. Mr. Dunn, 47, is charged in the first-degree murder of Mr. Davis and three counts of attempted murder, one for each of the other teenagers who were in the red sport utility vehicle that Mr. Dunn shot at. She said she could still hear the loud music as she walked up to the store. When Daviss fianc returned from the store where she had bought wine, Dunn sped away, leaving three boys with their dying friend. At the time of the . Miranda talked about shell casings found at the crime scene. Dunn's girlfriend Rhonda Rouer was with Dunn the night he allegedly shot 17-year-old Jordan Davis, at a Jacksonville gas station after an argument over loud music. Cover letter where he is sending his version of things to be released. 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. Jurors heard from six other witnesses throughout the day, including two officers from the Brevard County Sheriffs Office who responded after Dunn was contacted by the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and contacted a neighbor in law enforcement the following morning. [49] In 2020, she defeated Handel in a rematch to win reelection to a second term. Dunn stated that he received "ineffective assistance of counsel". The murder was one of the primary inspirations for the award-winning young adult novel Dear Martin, by Nic Stone. Dunn later testified that he still feared for his safety as well as that of Rouer who was to return to the vehicle imminently. His mother and father retained Cory Strolla, his defense lawyer for him, and Dunn liked to complain about him. Mr. Dunn and his lawyer said the teenagers got rid of the shotgun during the very brief period they pulled out of the gas station. Gabel cautioned Healey that "the mistake" being made Saturday was "the same one made in the first trial.". Dunn was originally tried for murder in February. Theyd had a few drinks while at the wedding. H.S., Torrington, CT and Vero Beach Senior High, graduating in the class of 1983. Kuritz says judging by the writing in Dunn's letter he believes the accused killer understand it might be presented in court. If her boyfriend is convicted he could face life in jail. After Simons' testimony wrapped up at around 12:40 p.m., court took a lunch break. The jury could not reach an agreement on the charge of first-degree murder, and the judge declared a mistrial on that count. The. Corey is personally prosecuting Dunn. The judge, already angered over the courtroom camera showing a potential juror, asked for the equipment to be turned off as the jury walked into the courtroom. Rouer and Dunn pulled up to the Gate gas station on Baymeadows Road, next to a red Dodge Durango. Defense lawyers have argued that Davis may have had a gun that night, and his three friends disposed of it after the shooting when they briefly fled from the Gate into the nearby parking lot. The murder trial of the Brevard County man accused of killing a teenager over loud music continues in Jacksonville on Monday. Controversybegan before anyone even took the stand in day three of the first-degree murder retrial on Saturday. Brian told Rhonda what he did on the way back to their hotel after the shoot occurred, and she was inside the store buying liquor when the shooting took place, so she had no idea what he did until their return. Rouer testified she did not hear any arguing. According to her Facebook the Florida woman, attended Vogel Jr. Simons testified that, in her medical opinion, she did not believe Davis was outside, or leaning outside of the vehicle when he was shot. The two went back to their hotel, Rouer said, where Dunn ordered a pizza. 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. We spend time getting to know Jordans friends, troubled by their loss and their own near-death experience. In this letter, he essentially blames his ex-wife for not studying English harder, tries to give fatherly advice while admitting to being a pretty bad one. Musser followed. Another man who was considered for jury selection but didn't get on the jury told Folio Weekly that the man who got onto the jury spoke derisively about State Attorney Angela Corey's competence. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. They didn't stop on the two hour drive home. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. He was still discussing whether Cory or the process was to blame and decided it was the process. The trio said there was never a gun in the car. On the way back to their hotel, the two decided to stop at the Gate Petroleum . Despite claiming he doesnt use the word thug, he calls Ron Davis the daddy of the thug. He also talks about the Bible and then brings up the 3 thugs in the SUV and calls it a rotten culture. He wants white jurors as hed rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.. During the previous trial, the Times-Union was among several media agencies to challenge Healey for the release of public records including several jailhouse calls made by Dunn. They also heard from the lead detective in the case with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and several forensics experts. 2023 Cox Media Group. The cases were settled for an undisclosed amount in January 2014. He faces 60 years in prison for the attempted murder convictions and will get life if he's convicted of killing Davis. Rhonda took the stand over the weekend to tell her side of what happened Nov. 23, 2012. In one of his calls to Rouer, Dunn explained his reason for leaving the gas station after the shooting. Davis' murder is one of many referenced by social justice activists (including many black parents) as a reminder that unarmed children who died at the hands of police or white men, mattered as individual human beings. Dunn and Rouer left the wedding early in order to return to their hotel and take care of their six-month-old puppy. The prosecutor, John Guy, expressing incredulity during his cross-examination, also picked apart Mr. Dunns testimony. In the duel between the attorneys, viewers can find a second villain in the defense teams Cory Strolla, who, while fulfillling his legal responsibility to vigorously defend his client, denies racial elements of the case while insistingthat Dunn feared for his life and implies, without evidence, that the teens were violent instigators who threw awaya weapon. The two had been engaged and living together at the time of the shooting. The deputy and two others went to Dunn's home to arrest him. Court is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Watch continuing live gavel-to-gavel coverage on ActionNewsJax.com. Nobody did fire back, did they? Mr. Amidst dailyreports about the trial of policeman Derek Chauvin, the gruesome death of George Floyd, and this weeks police shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota, it may seem perverse to revisit a different racially-charged trial from 2015. Rhonda Rouer (a key figure in contradicting Dunn's testimony about claiming to see Davis wielding a weapon). The couple left the afternoon wedding early to see about their seventh-month-old puppy Charlie, Rouer said. The State attorney has no hope of a guilty verdict. Rhonda Rouer was enjoying herself on the day after Thanksgiving in 2012 when she accompanied her fiance to his son's wedding. The trial led to local protests and international media attention. Mr. Dunn said he told his fiance several times that the teenager had threatened him with a gun or some kind of weapon. The police at the scene never found a gun, and the three surviving teenagers testified last week that they did not hide a weapon and were not carrying one in the Durango. Prosecutors received permission from the court to let the jury handle Dunn's gun. Here is what he says happened after he asked the teenagers in the SUV to turn down their music. 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. The film is currently available for streaming on demand from the documentary streaming service,Impactseries.netorApril 26 on the movie subscription service,Hollywood Suite. Musser also said he never went back to the Gate station to get video recordings of that night to determine if the witnesses gathered inside, including the three friends, were talking. He compares himself to My Cousin Vinnie and how he has a foolproof case. The film chronicles what CNN dubbed the loud music trial.On November 23,2012,Michael Dunn, a 45-year-old white software engineer, during a dispute about loud rap music coming from a red Jeep Durango in a Jacksonville parking lot, fired a revolver repeatedly into a car with four African-American teens, killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis. They were represented by John Michael Phillips in wrongful death and defamation lawsuits against Dunn. It was WrestleMania. "I'm not really sure what the investigators are thinking, but I told them what was up,". [16] Dunn returned to his home in Satellite Beach the following day at 10:30a.m., where he was arrested after an eyewitness reported his license plate to police. Tears streamed down Rhonda Rouers face and her voice shook as she recounted before jurors for a second time the day Michael Dunn shot a Jacksonville teen. It was life or death.. 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. Do his choices match yours? Mr. Davis and two of the teenagers had no criminal record. Healey said he was concerned about protecting the identity of the juror. Rouer broke into tears several times during her testimony, as she had in the first trial. In the letter addressed to "Baby," Dunn goes on to tell her "I cannot recall if I ever conveyed the details of my decision making to you. The state questioned the accuracy of the diagrams, which showed the Jetta at a slight angle and too much room between the vehicles. When questioned Saturday, Rouer said they were no longer engaged or in a relationship. 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. He's very loving."[29]. Yet,the film,3 Minutes, 10 Bullets, as well as being a compelling real-life courtroom drama, offers some clarity about race and injustice in the pre-Trump era. On Monday morning, the state began by calling Wendy Meacham, an investigator with the Office of the Medical Examiner. [36], Following the trial, Dunn's attorney filed for appeal with the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 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. [22][23] In his criminal trial, Dunn had been declared "broke. Dunn's girlfriend Rhonda Rouer was with Dunn the night he allegedly shot 17-year-old Jordan Davis, at a Jacksonville gas station after an argument over loud music. 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. He said she probably will get offers from Hollywood from testifying. "[42] He said he wanted to confront Dunn in jail about his son's murder. Related Story: Transcript of hearing to excuse juror #4 released. 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. Dunn letter from prison to his girlfriend. Saying, "I then realized that we hadn't really discussed what happened, as we were more concerned with whether or not anyone was hurt. Dunn's fiance, who served as an adversarial witness, said no such item was mentioned to her at any point. 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