Man Who Killed Marietta Teen Over Loud Music Gets Life Sentence

A Florida man who was convicted of killing a part-time Marietta resident over the loud music coming from an SUV he was sitting in has been sentenced to life in prison for his crime.

The Associated Press reports that Michael Dunn, 47, received the sentence on Friday at the hands of Circuit Judge Russell Healy, who told Dunn that for all intents and purposes, his life was over.

In November, 2012, 17-year-old Jordan Davis and his friends were in an SUV in a parking lot at a Jacksonville, FL convenience store when Dunn and his wife pulled in to the parking lot looking to buy some wine from the store. Dunn complained about the loud music coming from the SUV, and got in an argument with Davis. Dunn pulled out a gun and fired 10 shots into the SUV, killing Davis.

Dunn said he saw a weapon in the SUV and feared for his life, but no such weapon was ever recovered by police.

Jurors could not reach a verdict on first degree murder during Dunn’s first trial, but did find him guilty of three counts of attempted second degree murder and one count of firing a gun into an occupied vehicle. These convictions earned Dunn a sixty-year sentence and a new trial on the murder charge.

Dunn’s second trial saw the jury return a guilty verdict on the first degree murder charge. Since the prosecution declined to seek the death penalty, the only option available for Healy on Friday was to sentence Dunn to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Davis’ mother, Lucy McBath, spoke out after the conviction.

“I felt like finally my son has rest, he really has peace,” she said.