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Man appeals conviction for killing black teen over loud music outside Jacksonville gas station

 
Michael Dunn of Satellite Beach asked an appeals court Tuesday to throw out his murder conviction and life sentence for killing a teenage boy after an argument over loud music outside a gas station. [Associated Press (2014)]
Michael Dunn of Satellite Beach asked an appeals court Tuesday to throw out his murder conviction and life sentence for killing a teenage boy after an argument over loud music outside a gas station. [Associated Press (2014)]
Published June 8, 2016

JACKSONVILLE — A man convicted of killing a teenage boy after an argument over loud music outside a gas station wants a third trial.

The Florida Times-Union reports an attorney for 49-year-old Michael Dunn of Satellite Beach asked an appeals court Tuesday to throw out his murder conviction and life sentence ( tbtim.es/124v).

Dunn was convicted in September 2014 of fatally shooting 17-year-old Jordan Davis of Marietta, Ga., in November 2012 after a confrontation sparked over loud music coming from the SUV in which Davis was riding. He had been convicted of three counts of second-degree murder at his initial trial in February 2014, but jurors were deadlocked on the first-degree murder charge.

Attorney Terry Roberts argued for a new trial, saying prosecutors didn't refute Dunn's claim that Davis had threatened to kill him before the shooting.

Dunn testified at both trials, claiming he acted in self-defense. Dunn, who is white, told jurors that he saw Davis roll down the window and flash what he believed to be a gun after the two exchanged words.

Prosecutors said Dunn, who is white, fired 10 times into the vehicle carrying black teenagers. Dunn contended that he kept firing at the fleeing SUV to make sure no one shot back at him.

Dunn was at the Jacksonville gas station after attending his son's wedding, where he had been drinking.

Throughout the second trial, prosecutors portrayed Dunn as a cold-blooded killer. He never called 911 after firing into the SUV, and afterward he went back to his hotel, made a drink, ordered pizza, walked his dog and went to sleep.