On November 23, 2012, Jordan Davis, an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

17-year-old boy, was murdered at a Gate Petroleum

gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, United States, by Michael David Dunn, a white 45-year-old software developer, following an argument over

loud music Loud music is music that is played at a high Loudness, volume, often to the point where it disturbs others and causes hearing damage. It may include music that is sung live, played with musical instruments, or with electronic media, such as Radi ...

played by Davis and his three friends. Dunn was convicted on three counts of attempted second-degree murder for firing at three other teenagers who were with Davis and one count of firing into an occupied vehicle. The jury could not reach a verdict on whether to convict Dunn for the murder of Davis at the first trial. In a second trial, Dunn was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Davis and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

without the possibility of

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

plus 90 years in prison. In 2021, the judges on the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

rejected Dunn's appeal based on the

stand-your-ground law A stand-your-ground law, sometimes called a "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law, provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense ...

in Florida.

Background

Dunn and his fiancée Rhonda Rouer traveled from their home in

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county se ...

to attend Dunn's son's wedding in Orange Park, near Jacksonville in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

. 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 their hotel, the two decided to stop at the 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 Blvd and Baymeadows Road, to buy gum and cigarettes.

Murder

The shooting of Jordan Davis took place in Jacksonville, Florida. Around 7:30 p.m., four teenage boys (Leland Brunson, Jordan Davis, Tommie Stornes, and Tevin Thompson) stopped at a Gate Petroleum gas station. Stornes left his red

Dodge Durango The Dodge Durango is a mid-size SUV produced by Dodge starting with the 1998 model year. The first two generations were very similar in that both were based on the Dodge Dakota and Dodge Ram, both featured a body-on-frame construction and both ...

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...

running while he went into the store. Brunson, Davis, and Thompson remained in the vehicle listening to music described as "very loud" by the murderer. Dunn, driving a black

Volkswagen Jetta The Volkswagen Jetta () is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen since 1979. Positioned to fill a sedan (automobile), sedan niche slightly above the firm's Volkswagen Golf, Golf hatchback, it has been marketed ov ...

sedan, and his fiancée Rhonda Rouer pulled into the right adjacent parking spot. Rouer left their 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 Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

from the music playing in the teens' SUV and asked for it to be turned down. The teens were listening to the song "Beef" by

Lil Reese Tavares Lamont Taylor (born January 6, 1993), known professionally as Lil Reese, is an American rapper. Hailing from Chicago's drill scene, he is best known for his guest appearance on Chief Keef's 2012 single "I Don't Like", which peaked at nu ...

featuring

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

and

Fredo Santana Derrick Antonio Coleman (July 4, 1990 – January 19, 2018), known professionally as Fredo Santana, was an American rapper. The older cousin of rapper Chief Keef, Santana began his career in 2011. His debut studio album, '' Trappin Ain't Dead ...

. 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." Dunn, who had a concealed weapons permit, took a handgun out of his glove compartment and started firing at Davis's door, hitting him in the legs, lungs, and

aorta The aorta ( ; : aortas or aortae) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the Ventricle (heart), left ventricle of the heart, branching upwards immediately after, and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits at ...

. As the SUV backed up to evade his gunshots, Dunn opened his door, got into a tactical stance and continued firing at the car as the boys ducked for cover. Dunn later testified that he still feared for his safety and that of Rouer, who would return to the vehicle imminently. After the shooting, Stornes drove the SUV away to a nearby

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

and stopped to find Davis "gasping for air". Rouer returned to Dunn's car. They returned to their hotel, where they ordered pizza. Dunn did not contact the police. The next morning, Rouer saw a TV news report about the shooting, which indicated that Jordan Davis had died. Dunn testified that, on the drive home, he called a neighbor who worked in law enforcement to arrange to speak to him about the shooting, but phone records indicate that the neighbor called him, and Rouer testified that the shooting was never mentioned during the call. At 10:30 a.m. the following day, Dunn returned to his home in

Satellite Beach Satellite Beach is a coastal city in Brevard County, Florida, U.S. The population was 11,226 at the 2020 United States census, up from 10,109 at the 2010 census, and it is located with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Banana River to the ...

, 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 Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

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's death, his parents, Ron Davis and

Lucy McBath Lucia Kay McBath (née Holman; born June 1, 1960) is an American politician who has served in the United States House of Representatives from a district in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, since 2019. She represented from 2019 to 2023 and since ...

, and some of the other vehicle occupants filed civil complaints against Dunn. They were represented by

John Michael Phillips John Michael Phillips (born February 4, 1975) is an American lawyer, consumer and civil rights advocate, and legal commentator. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Washington, DC. P ...

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

. 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 In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

on that count. Former Florida state attorney

Angela Corey Angela Corey (born October 31, 1954) is a former Florida State's Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Duval, Nassau and Clay counties—including Jacksonville and the core of its metropolitan area. She was elected in ...

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 A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...

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 90 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

rejected Dunn's appeal and refused to take the case. Dunn stated that he received "

ineffective assistance of counsel In United States law, ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) is a claim raised by a convicted criminal defendant asserting that the defendant's legal counsel performed so ineffectively that it deprived the defendant of the constitutional right gu ...

". 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. Hendrix spoke of a previous discussion in which Dunn asked him if he knew anyone who would "take care of" someone who infuriated him in an unrelated incident, and Hendrix interpreted further discussion as Dunn wanting to put a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

on this person. Dunn's daughter, Rebecca Dunn, defended her father's story in her statement during an interview, "He is going to protect himself if he sees no other way than to bring out his gun, then that's what he's going to do." She described Dunn as "a good man. He's not a racist. He's very loving." Davis's father, Ron Davis, said, "I'm in constant contact with Tracy Martin,

Trayvon Trayvon is a male given name. Notable people *Trayvon Bromell (born 1995), American track and field athlete *Trayvon Henderson (born 1995), American football player *Trayvon Lathan (born 1984), American basketball player *Trayvon Martin (1995–2 ...

's father, and I text Sybrina rayvon's motherall the time, and I just want to let them know, every time I get justice for Jordan, it's going to be justice for Trayvon, for us." He said he wanted to confront Dunn in jail about his son's murder. Davis's mother,

, ran for Congress in

Georgia's 6th congressional district Georgia's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. , it is represented by Democrat Lucy McBath. History Georgia's 6th congressional district has existed since the 29th Congress (1845–1847), the ...

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 On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Miami metropolitan area, Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 18 ot ...

as a reason for her run. She narrowly defeated incumbent

Karen Handel Karen Christine Handel (maiden name, née Walker; born April 18, 1962) is an American businesswoman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Handel served as chair of the Fulton County, Georgia, F ...

, winning 160,139 votes (50.5%) to Handel's 156,875 (49.5%). In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, she defeated Handel in a rematch to win reelection to a second term. Davis's murder is one of many referenced by

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

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 Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and racial inequality experienced by black people, and to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are police brutalit ...

. During the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the maj ...

, 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 A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

"#JusticeForJordanDavis". The murder was one of the primary inspirations for the award-winning young-adult novel ''

Dear Martin ''Dear Martin'', published in 2018 by Crown Publishing Group, is an adult novel by Nic Stone. It is Stone's debut novel, written as a reaction to the murder of Jordan Davis. The book appeared as #4 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. ...

'', by

Nic Stone Andrea Nicole Livingstone (born July 10, 1985), known as Nic Stone, is an American author of young adult fiction and middle grade fiction, best known for her debut novel ''Dear Martin'' and her middle grade debut, ''Clean Getaway''. Her novels ...

Documentaries

In January 2015, the documentary '' 3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets'' (originally titled ''3 ½ Minutes'') premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. 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 Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

. Davis's story is also featured in the 2015 documentary film ''The Armor of Light'', the directorial debut of Disney heir

Abigail Disney Abigail Edna Disney (born January 24, 1960) is an American documentary film producer, philanthropist, social activist, and member of the Disney family. She produced the 2008 documentary '' Pray the Devil Back to Hell''. Disney and Kathleen Hugh ...

. The film follows

Rob Schenck Robert Leonard Schenck (born 1958) is an American Evangelical clergyman who has ministered to elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C. and serves as president of a non-profit organization named for Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Schenck founde ...

, a pro-life Evangelical minister; Lucy McBath, the mother of teenager Jordan Davis; and attorney

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 The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in April 2015 before opening theatrically on October 30, 2015.

Notes

References

External links

''Arrest and Booking Report of Incident''
michaeldunntrial.com; archived from the original February 15, 2014.
The Jordan Davis Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jordan 2010s crimes in Florida 2012 controversies in the United States 2012 in Florida 2012 murders in the United States 21st-century American trials 21st century in Jacksonville, Florida African-American history of Florida Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Florida Black Lives Matter Child murder in Florida Controversies in Florida Deaths by firearm in Florida Deaths by person in Florida Incidents of violence against boys Murder in Florida Noise pollution November 2012 crimes in the United States People murdered in Florida Race and law in the United States Race-related controversies in the United States Trials in Florida