Jordan Davis case: Police say 9 bullet holes found in loud music SUV

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) — Nine bullet holes were found in an SUV in which a teen was killed after an argument with a man on trial for murder over loud music outside a Florida convenience store, a veteran crime scene investigator testified Saturday.

One of the bullets fired into the rear door killed Jordan Davis, 17, in November 2012. Michael Dunn, 47, is on trial in Jacksonville, charged with first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count shooting or throwing a deadly missile.

The case echoes a trial that received wide attention over another notorious shooting around the same time in Florida. George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen, in Sanford in 2012. Zimmerman, a Hispanic, was acquitted of second-degree murder in July 2013.

On Saturday, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective Andrew Kipple’s testimony about the location of the bullet holes also showed that the SUV’s driver and his front-seat passenger barely escaped being shot.

Authorities say Davis was parked in the Durango SUV with three friends outside the store. Dunn and his fiancée had just left a wedding reception and were heading back home when they stopped at the store and pulled up next to the SUV.

An argument began after Dunn told them to turn the music down, police said. One of Davis’ friends lowered the volume, but Davis then told him to turn it back up.

According to authorities, Dunn became enraged and he and Davis began arguing. One person walking out of the convenience store said he heard Dunn say, “You are not going to talk to me like that.”

Dunn, who had a concealed weapons permit, pulled a 9 mm handgun from the glove compartment, according to an affidavit, and fired multiple shots, striking Davis in the back and groin. No gun was found in the SUV.

The crime scene evidence technician testified that when he arrived about an hour and a half after the shooting, he found nine bullet holes in the Durango.

Kipple said that the three bullets that hit the front passenger door were stopped by the door’s interior metal wall and did get into the SUV, where passenger Tevin Thompson was seated. The bullet through the rear window passed through the interior and struck a sun visor right next to driver Tommie Stornes’ head, then struck the front window and the fragments fell to the dashboard.

Kipple said that while he found a several items like cups, a cellphone, a basketball and a bottle of hair gel, he did not find anything that could be considered a weapon. He said no one had entered the vehicle since the police initially arrived on the scene.

Dunn has said he saw the barrel of a shotgun and fired his 9mm handgun because he feared for his own life.