After a jury deadlocked in February on whether or not he was guilty of murdering 17-year-old Jordan Davis, Michael Dunn, 47, will stand trial a second time this month.
On Monday morning jury selection began for the retrial that will determine if he will spend a minimum of 60 years in prison for murdering Davis. During his first trial, Dunn was convicted of three counts of attempted murder for shooting at the sport-utility vehicle carrying Davis and his friends and one count of shooting or throwing a deadly missile.
According to the court, 489 people have reported for jury duty. Out of that jury pool, 16 will be seated and 12 will ultimately deliberate the verdict.
If you recall, Dunn fired at the SUV after engaging in a verbal disagreement with Davis about the teenagers loud music. Dunn told the court that he feared his life after seeing a gun and shot at the SUV to defend himself. Davis was the only teenager shot and killed. Police never recovered a weapon from the vehicle he was a passenger in.
Jury selection is expected to take a few days. Dunn’s defense, however, are hoping to move the high-profile trial out of Jacksonville.
From The Florida Times Union:
Defense attorney Waffa Hanania has argued that Dunn cannot get a fair trial in Jacksonville because of the heavy pretrial publicity, and asked for a change of venue. The case has generated international attention because Dunn is white and Davis and his friends are black and the incident was over their thumping rap music.
State Attorney Angela Corey, who is personally prosecuting Dunn, is opposing the motion for a change of venue. Circuit Judge Russell Healey has said he will try to pick a jury in Jacksonville, but will consider moving the case if it becomes impossible to seat an unbiased jury.
The judge stressed that he wasn’t required to find jurors who didn’t know about the case. He just had to find jurors who could keep an open mind.
If the case ends up being moved, it would likely delay the trial for several months.
We’ll keep you updated with the latest in Dunn’s retrial.
SOURCE: Florida Times Union | VIDEO SOURCE: News Inc.
