|
 Defense attorneys countered, saying Michael Dunn, 47, who is
white, acted in self-defense when he shot Jordan Davis and was
justified in using deadly force.
The trial, which has drawn international attention because of racial
overtones and claims of self-defense, was put in the hands of a jury
on Wednesday.
Davis was out on the town with friends when the argument broke out.
Prosecutors said Davis used foul language when confronting Dunn, but
that he was unarmed and never posed a physical threat.
"Jordan Davis didn't have a weapon. He had a big mouth. That man
wasn't going to stand for it, and it cost Jordan Davis his life,"
Assistant State Attorney John Guy said, wrapping up the
prosecution's case at the end of a week-long trial.
"This case is not about self-defense. It's about self-denial," he
added.
The case has drawn comparisons to the trial of George Zimmerman, the
former central Florida neighborhood watchman who was acquitted last
year of murder after saying he shot a 17-year-old unarmed black
teenager, Trayvon Martin, in self-defense during a struggle.
Dunn is charged with first-degree murder in the November 2012
shooting of Jordan Davis. Dunn also faces three charges of attempted
murder for firing 10 shots at four teens in the SUV parked in a
Jacksonville gas station.
Prosecutors said Dunn overreacted in anger when Davis hurled
expletives at him and refused to lower the volume.
"This defendant was disrespected by a 17-year-old teenager. He was
not happy with his (Davis's) response," said another Assistant State
Attorney Erin Wolfson who delivered the closing argument.
She quoted a witness who overheard Dunn say: "You are not going to
talk to me that way" as the altercation escalated.
Then Dunn "took it upon himself to silence Jordan Davis forever,"
Wolfson said.
If found guilty, Dunn faces up to life in prison. Prosecutors say
they will not seek the death penalty.
The verdict in the case remains in doubt, CNN legal analyst Sunny
Hostin, a former assistant U.S. attorney, tweeted on Tuesday night.
"Especially in Florida, given the breadth of the stand your ground
law and self-defense culture," she said.
Deliberating the case is a jury of 8 whites, 2 blacks, one Asian and
one Hispanic.
Dunn's attorney, Cory Strolla, said the state had failed to prove
its case, pointing to a lack of conclusive forensic evidence about
where Davis was when he was shot.
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"Michael Dunn was in a place where he had a right to be, asking for
a common courtesy. He had no duty to retreat. He had a right to meet
force with force, including deadly force," said Strolla. "He's had
that gun for 20 years and he has never fired it once."
Dunn took the stand in his own defense on Tuesday and told the jury
he started shooting in a state of panic after the exchange of words
grew more heated and he thought he saw the barrel of a gun in the
back window as Davis started to get out of the car.
Police said they found no weapon in the teens' SUV after the
shooting.
"Michael Dunn doesn't get to just assume Jordan Davis had a gun and
... was going to shoot him," said Wolfson. "Self-defense does not
let you assume."
The prosecution sought to expose inconsistencies in Dunn's version
of the incident.
The jury was reminded of dramatic testimony by Dunn's fiancée,
Rhonda Rouer, who told the court that after the shooting Dunn never
mentioned seeing a gun in the teens' car.
Medical evidence presented in court also showed that Davis died
inside the car in a defensive posture.
Dunn's description of some of the expletives used in the altercation
varied in court from a previous recorded account he gave to police.
In his closing argument, Strolla said the teens could have disposed
of a weapon after they left the gas station.
To illustrate his point, Strolla stood mute in front of the jury for
three minutes, the time the Durango was gone before returning to the
gas station to get help.
Strolla criticized investigators for failing to secure the entire
gas station plaza as a crime scene or search for a weapon that
night.
"They knew they messed up," Strolla said.
(Writing by David Adams and Barbara Liston;
editing by Ken Wills, Gunna Dickson and Leslie Adler)
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