We look at the testimony of Rhonda Rouer, Michael Dunn's fiancee, in his trial for the murder of Jordan Davis, and how it damaged his self-defense argument. The three teenagers in the Dodge Durango with Jordan at the time of the shooting testified Friday. Rhonda Rouer, Michael Dunn's now-ex-fiancee, testifies in his murder retrial. He makes a joke to his grandmother about women being interested in his fiance, and then told his grandmother he could fall into a pile of shit and step out smelling like a rose. About the case, he discusses the misinformation and outright lies being reported by the media. Despite saying he doesnt use the word thug, on page 6 he uses it to his own grandmother and specifically calls the surviving boys, thugs.. Dunn says it was self-defense. Dunn elaborates in great detail, revealing much of what has been already discussed, saying thugs, threatening to sue the County and rants about Angela Corey. They returned to their hotel where they ordered pizza. Dunn and his fiancee, Rhonda Rouer, then drove to their motel, ordered a pizza and stayed the night without contacting police. At the counter, she testified she heard three pops. [40], Davis' father Ron Davis said, "I'm in constant contact with Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, and I text Sybrina [Trayvon's mother] all 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. That jury convicted him of three counts of attempted murder but deadlocked on whether he was guilty of Davis' murder. It was life or death.. According to online records, the couple wedded May 22, 1989 in Indian River, Florida. That juror was eventually dismissed by the judge Saturday. He's not a racist. [19][20] Forensic scientists determined that in the short distance the boys traveled, a weapon could not have been stashed in a place that would not have been immediately visible to crime scene investigators. It was probably as simple as - 'He threatened to kill me' and left it at that.". It was WrestleMania. All rights reserved. Healey told Knox not to mention anything from the previous trial while testifying.During his testimony, Knox brought forth his opinion that Davis' window, the rear passenger window, was rolled at least partially down. Mr. Dunn, 47, is charged in the first-degree murder of Mr. Davis and three counts of attempted murder, one for each of the other teenagers who were in the red sport utility vehicle that Mr. Dunn shot at. Letters exchanged between accused killer, Michael Dunn and his girlfriend could be problematic for his defense. Police presence at Arlington Manor area complex after reported shooting, Police: One person detained in College Park area, Local Weather: Day 9 of 80-plus degree afternoons; much-needed rain by late Friday into Saturday, Viewing Venus under a telescope in our night sky. "[24][25], In closing arguments at the first trial, the defense lawyer for Dunn cited the language of Florida's stand-your-ground law. [39], Dunn's former neighbor, Charles Hendrix, said he was not surprised by his behavior. She is the mother on one son, Brandon Rouer. Prosecutors will call two more witnesses and then rest their case. The Berrys and Thompson said Dunn was a nice, calm person. Cover letter where he is sending his version of things to be released. [41] Hendrix spoke of a previous discussion where 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 send a hit on this person. [36], Following the trial, Dunn's attorney filed for appeal with the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida. However, the courtroom conversation between attorneys and the juror in question was conducted in a sidebar, preventing media or other members of the audience from hearing it. Before jurors were brought back into the courtroom after the lunch break, the defense presented diagrams showing the Durango parked next to Dunn's vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta. First Coast News has successfully fought for your access to these documents and we'll bring you more exclusive content on Thursday night at 8 p.m. during our special, Michael Dunn, fatal encounter. Then, I heard another pop,pop,pop.". These letters were written by Michael Dunn in jail and show a different side than you heard from him and his lawyers. Despite claiming he doesnt use the word thug, he calls Ron Davis the daddy of the thug. He also talks about the Bible and then brings up the 3 thugs in the SUV and calls it a rotten culture. He wants white jurors as hed rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.. The derogatory comments came in aFolio Weekly interviewwith an excused potential juror. Those friends, Leland Brunson, Tommie Stornes and Tevin Thompson, all testified Friday that Davis cursed at Dunn when he asked them to turn the music down, but didn't threaten him. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Dunn did not contact the police. [52][53] During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Davis' mother, Lucy McBath, talked about supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and said, "His death doesn't overshadow his life."[54]. At gunpoint? Rouer, Dunn's former girlfriend, was the fifth witness to take the stand in the third day of testimony of the murder retrial. Mr. Dunn said there was no rational reason to leave the scene except that he was afraid of the teenagers. The film debates the question: "Is it possible to be both pro-gun and pro-life?" Controversybegan before anyone even took the stand in day three of the first-degree murder retrial on Saturday. Rouer said she had a glass of red wine and about three rum and cokes as well as champagne. I was worried about the blind firing situation, where they would shoot over their heads, whatever, and hit me, or hit me and Rhonda.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The film chronicles what CNN dubbed the loud music trial.On November 23,2012,Michael Dunn, a 45-year-old white software engineer, during a dispute about loud rap music coming from a red Jeep Durango in a Jacksonville parking lot, fired a revolver repeatedly into a car with four African-American teens, killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Former WWE RAW Women's champion and UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, has not been on WWE television since her loss at WrestleMania 35 to Becky Lynch, who went home with both the RAW. Mr. Davis and two of the teenagers had no criminal record. Phillip Miranda took the stand next to discuss about shell casings. She testified that despite having prior plans she demanded that Dunn take her home right away. The film is currently available for streaming on demand from the documentary streaming service,Impactseries.netorApril 26 on the movie subscription service,Hollywood Suite. Rhonda RouerShooter Michael Dunns girlfriend, Pam Baker Cocker: Singer Joe Cockers Wife, Melinda Trucks Allman Brothers Butch Trucks Wife, Armstead Edwards: Patti LaBelles Ex- Husband, Charles Alden Black Jr.- Actress Shirley Temples Son, Jill Sutton Costas NBC Sportscaster Bob Costas Wife, Vivienne Westwood Husband Andreas Kronthaler, Francesca Hetfield Metallicas James Hetfields Wife. Rouer and Dunn pulled up to the Gate gas station on Baymeadows Road, next to a red Dodge Durango. The justices did not explain their reasons behind the refusal. Rouer, Dunn's former girlfriend, was the fifth witness to take the stand in the third day of testimony of the murder retrial. One of those men, 17-year-old Jordan Davis, died that night - a fact Rouer didn't learn about until the next morning. He wanted to entice the mayors office to worry about Jacksonvilles PR. In most of the calls, Dunn speaks with his fiance, Rhonda Rouer, who was in the Gate convenience store when Dunn fired 10 shots at the SUV carrying Davis and three other teenagers. I apologize," said Healey on Saturday. His fiance, Rhonda Rouer, says the last thing she heard him say was, "I hate that thug music." Rouer was in the convenience store when she heard gunshots, and when she ran outside, he told. Rhema Thompson began her post at WJCT on a very cold day in January 2014 and left WJCT to join the team at The Florida Times Union in December 2014. It was Jordan Davis who kept escalating this to the point where I had no choice but to defend myself, Mr. Dunn said, naming the 17-year-old student he shot dead in the parking lot of a gas station convenience store. 3 Minutes, 10 Bullets. "We were very happy," said Rouer, in tears. [9] She testified that Dunn told her "I hate that thug music," before she left the car for the store, though Dunn claims he used the phrase "rap crap. Rouer said she went to the entrance to see what was happening and saw Dunn facing the driver's side window. Siniscal said he had a "high-risk" arrest warrant for Michael Dunn. "I think maybe he understands this will be coming into trial one day and he wants a jury who sees it to be thinking he's a good person, he's reading the bible in there," said Kuritz. He raised a significant question that still hangs over the proceedings: If the teenagers had a shotgun and were being fired upon, why didnt they use it? Brian told Rhonda what he did on the way back to their hotel after the shoot occurred, and she was inside the store buying liquor when the shooting took place, so she had no idea what he did until their return. Instead, it was set off by an escalating sense of menace that Mr. Dunn said he felt after he saw Mr. Davis point a shotgun at him, get out of the vehicle and make an explicit threat to kill him. The film refutes any assumptions that crime and racism are the burdens of the poor and disenfranchised: Both Dunn and the boys in the car were comfortable and middle-class. A witness memorized his licence plate and he was arrested at his home a day later. British director Marc Silvers tautly edited film, which won a special jury award at Sundance in 2015, was picked up by HBO and aired later that year. The trial was halted briefly Saturday morning when a juror was dismissed. He said he responded to the crime scene.After Rouer's testimony, Sukhan Warf, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab analyst and DNA expert followed. A former Folio staffer who was a potential juror but did not make the final cut heard the juror criticize State Attorney Angela Corey during jury selection, according to Folio. Davis' murder is one of many referenced by social justice activists (including many black parents) as a reminder that unarmed children who died at the hands of police or white men, mattered as individual human beings. She said she could still hear the loud music as she walked up to the store. She complied, and saw Dunn put a handgun in the glove box. The next morning, after the couple saw news reports that someone had died at the gas station, Mr. Dunn said he called a neighbor, a federal law enforcement official, and told him he had to discuss something with him when he got home. The police arrested him shortly after he arrived in Brevard, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away. She also said that Mr. Dunn never called their neighbor to say he wanted to discuss something important. When Dunn got a new allegedly suicidal neighbor in jail, he jokes about giving him advice on how to end it, an easy way to die would be to ask a care load of thugs to turn their stereo down., He refers to one Judge as Judge BIAS and Angela Corey knows she has no chance of conviction.. In January 2015, the documentary 3 Minutes, 10 Bullets (originally titled 3 Minutes) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. (CLICK ANY LINK TO DOWNLOAD PDF OF EACH LETTER): Dunn reference a few criminal defense lawyers he spoke with and how one mentioned to him that he never mentioned a gun to Rhonda. February 10, 2014 Dunn repeatedly told her to get into the car, and when she did she saw him put the gun he carried in the glove compartment. Dramatic Testimony in Florida Stand Your Ground Trial Michael Dunn's fiance Rhonda Rouer takes the stand as a witness for the prosecution. Rhonda's boyfriend is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Jordan Davis, 17, at a Jacksonville, Fla. convenience store in November 2012. Mr. Dunn said he saw Mr. Davis with a weapon. Daviss parents, Ron Davis and Lucia McBath, were also visibly emotional in the audience. Dunn addresses Rhondas testimony and coaches her a little and also encourages her to take a Valium if she gets nervous. In a letter dated December 5, 2012, Michael Dunn wrote to Rouer about her testimony to prosecutors. Dunn letter from prison to his girlfriend. He now understands that you need to put a weapon in that persons hand," said Kuritz. The police at the scene never found a gun, and the three surviving teenagers testified last week that they did not hide a weapon and were not carrying one in the Durango. Dunns attorneys contend 17-year-old Davis was the aggressor, saying the teenagers had a gun in the SUV that night in 2012 at a Southside gas station, but a gun was never recovered from the scene. In 2021, the jury and judges on the Florida Supreme Court rejected Dunn's appeal based on the stand-your-ground law in Florida. Zimmermans acquittal happened in the summer of 2013, between Dunns first trial, which ended in a partial verdict,and his second trial in the fall, when the jury convicted him of first degree murder. Miranda talked about shell casings found at the crime scene. He talks about a civil suit against the State and others, although he was finally talked out of suing Jordans family. Defense lawyers have argued that Davis may have had a gun that night, and his three friends disposed of it after the shooting when they briefly fled from the Gate into the nearby parking lot. It's possible Dunn could take the stand in his own defense. [38], On June 22, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Dunn's appeal and refused to take the case. She did not witness any of the confrontation between her fiance and Davis, Rouer said. Healey eventually agreed to have the transcripts emailed to Gabel for review. He is now serving life in prison without parole. "It just took some time to get through that. [22][23] In his criminal trial, Dunn had been declared "broke. In the morning, Rouer saw a news report about a shooting at a Jacksonville gas station, in which a 17-year-old had been killed, and rather than call police, the couple packed their bags and drove. Rhonda Rouer took the stand and started trembling and sobbing as she began to get into what happened on the night of the shooting. The State attorney has no hope of a guilty verdict. Rouer recalled Dunn's first words to her. On February 15, a jury of twelve deadlocked on whether or not Michael Dunn, an armed and inebriated adult, committed murder by killing unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Davis. The deputy and two others went to Dunn's home to arrest him. Action News Jax facebook feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax twitter feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax youtube feed(Opens a new window), Related: Jordan's Friends Take Stand in Day 2, live gavel-to-gavel coverage on ActionNewsJax.com, Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, FHP: Man dies after FDOT Road Ranger rear-ends truck, pushes him over edge of Buckman Bridge, PCSO: No charges in case of mail carrier mauled by 5 dogs, Its a monumental win: Newly approved legislation increases required age to work in strip clubs. The couple drove back to their hotel, ordered a pizza and Dunn made them some alcoholic drinks. "[42] He said he wanted to confront Dunn in jail about his son's murder. The Folio writer confirmed to Action News at 12:35 p.m. that it was his article that led to the dismissal of juror #4. and his crew gained permission to film inside the Jacksonville court house, as long as they did not film the jury. In the last trial, Rouer testified that he initially didnt make any mention of a weapon to her. Dunn and his fiance Rhonda Rouer traveled from their home in Brevard County to attend Dunn's son's wedding in Orange Park, near Jacksonville, Florida. July 3, 2013 - Letter to Cousin Ronda Rousey is currently recuperating after breaking her hand in the match at WrestleMania 35. Rouer may return again. He made a misogynistic joke about now having a judge with balls and compares his case to Zimmermans. The day began with early morning controversy over disparaging remarks reportedly made by a juror about State Attorney Angela Corey. Dunn has also pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder for firing at three of Davis friends. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. At that point, he said, his mind was on his fiance, Rhonda Rouer, who was about to walk out of the convenience store. On November 23, 2012, Jordan Davis, a black 17-year-old high school student, was murdered at a Gate Petroleum gas station in Jacksonville, Florida, by Michael David Dunn, a white 45-year-old software developer, following an argument over loud music played by Davis and his three friends, in what was believed to be a racially motivated shooting. Took the stand and started trembling and sobbing as she walked up to the Gate gas station on Baymeadows,! Where they ordered pizza rational reason to leave the scene except that he didnt! No hope of a weapon to her a day later side than you heard from him and his could. 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