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Murder of Jordan Davis

On November 22nd, 2012, 49-year-old Dunn and his Fiancée, Rhonda Rouer, drove from their home in Satellite Beach to Orange Park, Florida, to spend Thanksgiving with family. The next day, they attended the wedding of Dunn’s son.

After having a lovely time at the wedding, the two were driving back to the Sheraton hotel where they were staying when they decided to stop at Gate Petroleum gas station in Jacksonville so that Rouer could get a bottle of wine.

Dunn parked his vehicle near the entrance just after 7:30 pm. To the left of him sat teens Leland Brunson, Jordan Davis, and Tevin Thompson in a red Dodge Durango. The driver of that vehicle, Tommie Stornes, was inside the store at the time making a purchase.

The four teens stopped to get cigarettes and gum as they headed to a nearby mall.

Even though Dunn was rude, the front-seat passenger, Tevin Thompson, complied with his request and turned the music down.

Moments later, 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who was sitting behind Thompson, voiced his displeasure with the music volume being decreased.

According to Dunn, things escalated, and Davis threatened him and then pulled a shotgun. Dunn claims he reacted to the threat by pulling his gun from the glove compartment and firing first.

By the time Dunn started shooting, Stornes, the owner of the SUV, was back in the driver seat, and he was able to back out and sped away from the gas station.

Dunn kept shooting even as the Durango drove away.

Soon, Rouer returned to the car, and the duo fled the scene.

Meanwhile, the Durango circled back to the shooting scene as Davis struggled to breathe after being shot in the legs, lungs, and aorta. He later died, but luckily, none of his friends were hit.

After the shooting, Dunn and Rouer went back to their hotel and ordered a pizza, and Dunn took their dog for a walk. Neither one contacted authorities. They eventually returned home to Satellite Beach where Dunn was arrested.

Interogation

When questioned by police, Dunn told authorities that Davis flashed a gun. He also claimed that Davis opened his car door right before the shooting as if he were about to go after Dunn. He tried to claim the shooting was self-defense, but the more intense the questioning got, the more he started to incriminate himself.

After an hour, he came to his senses and asked for a lawyer.

Legal Proceedings

He went to trial in January 2014 using a stand-your-ground defense. He took the stand, telling jurors he feared for his life.

He claimed that he heard racial comments, something he never said during his interrogation.

The jury deliberated for more than 30 hours. They convicted Dunn of three counts of second-degree attempted murder.

The jury couldn’t agree on the first-degree murder charge, and the judge declared a mistrial on that count.

Dunn’s retrial for the murder of Davis started on September 22nd, 2014. On October 1st, he was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life without parole plus 90 years.

Aftermath

His case was so highly publicized due to it’s racial element, that Dunn’s name is not listed on the Florida Department of Corrections website for safety reasons.