Why Loud Music Shooter Didn't Call Cops Right Away
Feb. 11, 2014— -- A Florida man charged with fatally shooting a teen in a convenience store parking lot told police the next day that he left the scene because he was afraid and returned to his hotel "waiting for another carload of thugs to come."
The video of Michael Dunn's interrogation with investigators, taken on Nov. 24, 2012, was played for the jury today at his first-degree murder trial.
Dunn, 47, is charged with fatally shooting Jordan Davis, 17, in the parking lot of a Jacksonville convenience store in November 2012 after an argument over loud music.
After the shooting, Dunn left the scene and returned to his hotel room with his fiancee, Rhonda Rouer, where they ordered a pizza and spent the night.
Dunn told police in the video that he was at the hotel, "sh--ing bricks, waiting for another carload of thugs to come. I've never been so scared in my life."
It wasn't until later that evening that Dunn said he learned one of the teens had died.
Earlier today, Dunn took the stand at his first-degree murder trial and said the dispute with the teens over their music escalated to the point where he feared for his life and had no choice but to fire his gun.
"I thought I was going to be killed," he said.
Dispute Started in Convenience Store Parking Lot
After leaving his son's wedding reception, Dunn said he stopped at a convenience store on the way back to his hotel so his fiancee, Rhonda Rouer, could buy white wine and chips.
He parked next to a red SUV where Davis and his friends were sitting and listening to music.
"There was music and then it got really loud," Dunn said. "Body panels on the SUV were rattling, [the] rearview mirror was shaking, my ear drums were vibrating…This was ridiculously loud music."
Dunn said he politely asked Davis and his friends to turn down the music. One of Davis' friends lowered the volume, however Dunn claimed the music was then turned back up.
Dunn said he heard a teen yelling over the thumping base.
"I hear, 'I should kill that mother f----r.' I'm flabbergasted. I must not be hearing this right," Dunn said.
He said he rolled down his window and tried to de-escalate the situation. At that point, Dunn said the teen in the backseat reached down and pointed what he said appeared to be four inches of the barrel of a gun at him.
Dunn said Davis then opened the car door and said, "You're dead, b----."
"I thought he was coming to kill me. I thought he was coming to beat me," Dunn said. He said he did not see what he believed to be a shotgun anymore.
"What went through my mind is, 'This was a clear and present danger,'" Dunn said. "I said, 'You're not going to kill me you son of a b----."
At that point, Dunn, who had a concealed weapons permit, retrieved his pistol from his glove box and fired. According to a police affidavit, nine bullet holes were found on the SUV.
Dunn and his fiancee left their hotel the next morning and went home to Brevard County where Dunn was arrested.
His testimony came on the second day of the defense's presentation. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
