A circuit judge has decided that the second murder trial of Michael Dunn will not go forward next month as planned.Judge Russell Healey said Wednesday morning that he would allow a delay in the retrial of the Brevard County man.
In February, a jury found Dunn guilty of attempted murder at a Southside gas station where he shot at a car of teenagers following a dispute over loud music. The shooting led to the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
Dunn was convicted of three counts of attempted murder for each of Davis' three friends in the vehicle, but the jury deadlocked over whether or not to convict Dunn of first-degree murder in the death of Davis.
Under the state's 10-20-Life law, Dunn faces a minimum of 60 years in prison for the three counts, plus an additional count of shooting a deadly missile.
Tuesday, Dunn’s new attorney Waffa Hanania filed a motion to continue the trial, originally scheduled for next month. Hanania, from the Office of Regional Conflict Counsel, was brought on to replace defense attorney Cory Strolla, who represented Dunn in the initial trial. She said she would need more time to prepare for the trial.
During Tuesday's proceeding, Assistant State Attorney John Guy also told the judge he plans to file a motion for a rehearing on Dunn's sentencing.
In February, Strolla filed a motion to delay Dunn's sentencing until after the retrial. Healey had agreed to delay that sentencing hearing until May 5, the original start date of his new trial.
A new date for the trial has yet to be decided, but Healey set a pretrial hearing for June 9 to determine when Dunn's new trial will take place.
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