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A juror from the “loud music” murder trial of Michael Dunn for the shooting death of Jordan Davis became the first to speak with the press.
“I believed he was guilty,” Valerie said in an interview with ABC’s “Nightline” early Wednesday. Also known as juror No. 4, she asked that her full name not be given in order to protect her identity.
CNN reports:
A jury on Saturday night convicted Dunn of three charges of attempted murder for shooting at three teenagers in an SUV and one count of shooting into the vehicle on November 23, 2012.
But a separate murder charge in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis resulted in a hung jury. Prosecutor Angela Corey said she would seek a new trial on the charge.
Dunn faces 60 years or more in prison for the attempted murder charges when he’s sentenced next month.
On the murder charge, Valerie said the jury split over the issue of self-defense.
Florida law says the use of deadly force is justifiable if someone reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.
In his testimony, Dunn insisted that Davis threatened him and that he saw a gun. Police never recovered a weapon.
Valerie said the jury’s first vote was 10-2 in favor of a murder conviction. Over nearly 30 hours of deliberations, the vote became 9-3.
Ultimately, the jury convicted Dunn on the charges of attempted murder.
Valerie said all the jurors felt Dunn crossed a line when he continued to fire at the SUV as it fled the scene. In their minds, any threat Dunn may have felt before had passed.
“We all believed that there was another way out, another option,” she said.
But for Valerie, it never should have happened at all. Dunn could have chosen another path.
“Roll your window up, ignore the taunting, put your car in reverse … move a parking spot over. That’s my feeling.”
