Today, prosecutors continue laying out their first-degree murder case against 47-year-old Michael Dunn, the man accused of killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis outside of a convenience store in Jacksonville, Fl.
A panel of 12 jurors and 4 alternates were seated to hear the case, which details a trip to the gas station gone wrong after an argument over loud music ensued.
On Friday, the three teens who were with Jordan when he was fatally shot, broke their silence. Leland Brunson, Tommie Stornes and Tevin Thompson — now 18, 20 and 18 years old, respectively — described what happened the day they went out to shop for Black Friday and ended up a the Gate gas station to pick up cigarettes and gum, as one needed it for his breath for “girl shopping.”
The three detailed their typical teenage behavior, all with identical stories of how they met up that night. Stornes, the driver of the red Dodge Durango, told prosecutor John Guy that a black sedan pulled up next to them at the gas station, so close that if his door was open, it would have hit the car. Stornes was in the store the majority of the time and didn’t hear or see what words were exchanged between the defendant and Jordan.
Interestingly, however, Stornes’ testimony was delayed because he watched portions of the trial the day before. Witnesses in the case aren’t supposed to watch any of the case before they testify, but Stornes said he didn’t know.
He is also the only one of the teenagers with a criminal record. He had a third-degree felony conviction and was on probation. He was supposed to be home by 7 p.m. every night, but the shooting occurred later in the evening.
Tevin Thompson, who was sitting in the passenger seat in front of Jordan, told the court that he witnessed the interaction between the defendant and Jordan, and tried to end their conversation by rolling up Jordan’s window.
He maintains that even though Jordan said “f*ck that, turn the music back up,” after Dunn complained it was too loud, he never threatened the 46-year-old man. Thompson also says that Dunn deliberately aimed his gun towards Jordan’s door.
“If he wasn’t aiming, I would have been the first target,” he said.
In one of the more emotional testimonies of the day, Leland Brunson, Jordan’s best friend, described the moment Jordan was shot to Guy and defense attorney Cory Strolla.
Brunson told the court that they didn’t know Jordan was shot until Stornes called out everyone’s name. That’s when Jordan didn’t reply. Brunson held his friend in the backseat, listening to him gasp for air until first responders arrived.
All three said Dunn killed Davis without being threatened. They also denied hiding a gun afterward as Dunn’s attorney has contested.
Testimony from witnesses, however, may prove more important than that of Jordan’s friends. From the Florida Times Union:
Alyssa LeBlanc testified she was leaving the Loop restaurant in the parking lot next to the Gate when she saw the Durango. LeBlanc saw Stornes and Thompson get out of the car, check to see if Davis was OK and then put the car in reverse to go back to the Gate to get help.
Strolla has argued that this was when a gun was most likely disposed of and has criticized the police for never shutting down the lot when they investigated the shooting.
But LeBlanc, who was backed up by her brother, Christopher LeBlanc, testified she saw Stornes and Thompson the whole time they were in the parking lot, and they never took a weapon out of the car.
“I never saw anything taken out of that car,” she said.
Read more about the case here, and be sure to check back for updates throughout the day.
