Michael Dunn was shooting to kill, not defending himself, when he fired at 17-year-old Jordan Davis after the two had an argument over loud music outside a Florida convenience store, prosecutors said during closing arguments on Tuesday in the second trial in the case.
Closings began after the 47-year-old Dunn took the witness stand in his own defense, saying he feared for his life when he opened fire in November 2012.
“He wasn’t shooting at the tires. He wasn’t shooting at the windows. He was shooting to kill. Aiming at Jordan Davis,” prosecutor Erin Wolfson told jurors.
Prosecutors say Dunn killed Davis, of Georgia, when he fired 10 times into an SUV carrying four teenagers.
Dunn was convicted of three counts of attempted second-degree murder in February and already faces at least 60 years in prison.
The jury in the first trial deadlocked on the first-degree murder count.
Wolfson argued to the jury that Dunn fired in anger after Davis disrespected him.
Dunn said the problems started when he and his fiancee heard loud bass thumping from an SUV parked next to them after they pulled into a convenience store to buy a bottle of wine. Dunn had just come from his son’s wedding.
“I put my window down ... and I said: ‘Hey, would you mind turning that down please?”’ Dunn said.
Testimony from the other teenagers in the case said Dunn was angry when he asked them to turn the music down.
The music was turned off for a short time, Dunn said, until he heard a voice from the SUV’s backseat yelling curse words, telling someone in front to turn it back up.
Dunn said the man in the backseat then rolled the window down and flashed a gun.
Police found no weapons in Davis’ car or near the crime scene.
Dunn said the back door of the SUV opened, and that he grabbed his handgun, for which he had a permit, and began firing.
He continued firing as the SUV sped away.
Dunn said he did not think that he had hurt anyone, and prosecutors said he went back to his hotel, had a cocktail, walked his dog, ordered a pizza and went to sleep.
Dunn said he did not know Davis had died until he saw a report on his cellphone at 1am.
“And when he realized what happened, he just got in the car and drove home the next morning,” Wolfson said.
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