JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A judge on Wednesday ruled to delay the trial indefinitely for a Florida man accused of murdering a teenager during an argument over loud music.
Acting Circuit Judge Russell Healey agreed to a request from Michael Dunn’s new attorneys to push back the May 5 trial.
Dunn is charged with murdering Jordan Davis, 17, outside a Jacksonville convenience store in 2012. The two had argued over loud music coming from the SUV Davis was sitting in along with three friends. According to The Florida Times-Union (https://tinyurl.com/larfdtf), Dunn’s attorneys say they need more preparation time.
The 12 jurors found Dunn guilty of three counts of attempted second-degree murder and a count of firing into an occupied car, but the jury deadlocked on the murder charge.
Dunn says he opened fire on the SUV after it looked like Davis, of Marietta, Ga., threatened him and raised an apparent shotgun. No weapon was found. The teens, who were black, testified that Dunn became angry when Davis cursed at him after he asked them to turn down the music they were playing.
Dunn, who is white, had described the music to his fiancee as “thug music.”
Dunn could face a maximum of 60 years in prison for the charges on which he already has been convicted.
His attorneys successfully fought to have the sentencing postponed until after the second trial, saying it would be unfair to sentence Dunn before he’s tried on the murder charge. The defense argued that Dunn, 47, can’t speak on his own behalf until after the new trial because anything he says in the sentencing hearing can be used against him.
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Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, https://www.jacksonville.com
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