Murder of Jordan Davis

Michael Dunn and his fiancée Rhonda Rouer, traveled from their home in Brevard County, to attend Dunn’s son’s wedding in Orange Park, near Jacksonville in Clay County. Dunn and Rouer, left the wedding early to return to their hotel and care for their six-month-old puppy. On the way back to the hotel, they stopped at a Gate Petroleum gas station to purchase a bottle of wine. Tommie Stornes, Leland Brunson, Jordan Davis, and Tevin Thompson had been spending the day traveling to various malls when they decided to go to the Gate Petroleum gas station at the corner of Southside Boulevard and Baymeadows Road to buy gum and cigarettes. ==Murder==

The shooting of Jordan Davis took place in Jacksonville, Florida. Around 7:30 p.m., Leland Brunson (17),Jordan Davis (17), Tevin Thompson (17) and Tommie Stornes (19), stopped at a Gate Petroleum gas station. Stornes left his red Dodge Durango SUV running while he went into the store. Brunson, Davis, and Thompson remained in the vehicle listening to music described as "very loud" by Dunn, driving a black Volkswagen Jetta sedan, and his fiancée Rhonda Rouer (passenger) who pulled into the right adjacent parking spot. Rouer left the car to purchase white wine and chips. She testified that Dunn told her "I hate that thug music" before she left the car for the store, although Dunn claims that he used the phrase "rap crap." Dunn was annoyed by the bass from the music playing in the SUV and asked for it to be turned down. The occupants were listening to the song "Beef" by Lil Reese featuring Lil Durk and Fredo Santana. The SUV's front seat passenger, Tevin Thompson, initially complied and turned the volume down, but Jordan Davis requested that the volume be turned back up. As Stornes returned to the SUV, Davis's protests continued, and an independent witness overheard Dunn say, "No, you're not gonna talk to me that way." No independent witness nor any of the SUV occupants recalled hearing Davis threaten Dunn’s life, though Dunn insisted this was the reason for the shooting. Dunn who had a concealed weapons permit, After the shooting, Stornes drove the SUV away to a nearby parking lot and stopped to find Davis "gasping for air". At 10:30 a.m. the following day, Dunn returned to his home in Satellite Beach, where he was arrested after an eyewitness reported his license plate number to police. After his arrest, Dunn claimed that Davis had threatened him with a "gun or a stick". Dunn's fiancée, who served as an adversarial witness at the trial, said that no such item was mentioned to her. Investigators later searched the teenagers' SUV and found no weapons. Forensic scientists determined that, in the short distance that the boys traveled, a weapon could not have been stashed in a place that would not have been visible immediately to crime scene investigators. Contrary to Dunn's claim that he mentioned a weapon to Rouer, she testified that he never mentioned a gun either that night or the next day. ==Legal proceedings==

Shortly after Davis' death, his parents, Ron Davis and Lucy McBath, and some of the other vehicle occupants filed civil complaints against Dunn. They were represented by John Michael Phillips in wrongful death and defamation lawsuits against Dunn. The cases were settled for an undisclosed amount in January 2014. Dunn's insurance company, Progressive Select Insurance, challenged its duty to cover the lawsuit but dismissed its lawsuit in conjunction with the settlement. In his criminal trial, Dunn had been declared "broke." In closing arguments at the first trial, Dunn's defense lawyer cited the language of Florida's stand-your-ground law. On February 15, 2014, after more than 30 hours of deliberation, the jury found Dunn guilty on the three counts of attempted murder. The jury could not reach an agreement on the charge of first-degree murder, and the judge declared a mistrial on that count. Former Florida state attorney Angela Corey stated that her office would seek a retrial for this charge. Dunn's attorney subsequently requested that sentencing on the four counts of which Dunn already had been convicted be delayed until after Dunn's retrial. Dunn faced a minimum of 75 years in prison on the following counts: a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years for each count of attempted second-degree murder, and up to 15 years for firing into a moving vehicle. Jury selection in Dunn's retrial began on September 22, 2014, and opening statements occurred on September 25. Dunn was found guilty on October 1, 2014, after the retrial. Dunn was given a sentence of life in prison without parole plus 105 years. Following the trial, Dunn's attorney filed for appeal with the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida. On November 17, 2016, his appeal was denied. On June 22, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Dunn's appeal and refused to take the case. Dunn stated that he received "ineffective assistance of counsel". The justices did not explain their reasons behind the refusal. ==Aftermath==

Reactions Dunn's former neighbor, Charles Hendrix, said he was not surprised by his behavior. Hendrix described Dunn as arrogant and controlling, adding that Dunn's ex-wives told him that Dunn was violent and abusive toward them, although he never personally witnessed this. She described Dunn as "a good man. He's not a racist. He's very loving." He said he wanted to confront Dunn in jail about his son's murder. Davis' mother, Lucy McBath, ran for Congress in Georgia's 6th congressional district in 2018, running on a platform that included reform of gun laws. McBath cited the activism of students after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting as a reason for her run. She narrowly defeated incumbent Karen Handel, winning 160,139 votes (50.5%) to Handel's 156,875 (49.5%). In 2020, she defeated Handel in a rematch to win reelection to a second term. Davis' murder is one of many referenced by social justice activists (including many black parents) as a reminder that unarmed children who die at the hands of police or white men matter as human beings. ABC News, Australia says the case has become part of the national conversation about the dangers facing young black men in America today. The murder is believed to have inspired activism of the Black Lives Matter movement. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Davis's mother, Lucy McBath, talked about supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and said, "His death doesn't overshadow his life." Rapper Lil Reese, whose song was being played by Jordan Davis at the time of his murder, tweeted condolences to Davis and his family, using the hashtag "#JusticeForJordanDavis". The murder was one of the primary inspirations for the award-winning young-adult novel Dear Martin, by Nic Stone. == Documentaries ==

In January 2015, the documentary 3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets (originally titled 3 ½ Minutes) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary, directed by Marc Silver, explores the shooting, the trial, and Florida's Stand Your Ground laws. The documentary won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The film distribution was sold to HBO. Davis' story is also featured in the 2015 documentary film The Armor of Light, the directorial debut of Disney heir Abigail Disney. The film follows Rob Schenck, a pro-life Evangelical minister; Lucy McBath, the mother of teenager Jordan Davis; and attorney John Michael Phillips as they interact in the years after the shooting. The film debates the question: "Is it possible to be both pro-gun and pro-life?" The Armor of Light premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2015 before opening theatrically on October 30, 2015. ==See also==