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BREAKING (5 PM): On Fourth Day Of Deliberations, Michael Dunn Jury Reaches Verdict In 4 of 5 Counts

News4Jax

The jury in the Michael Dunn trial has reached a verdict on four of five counts, with the charge of first-degree murder for the shooting of Jordan Davis still undecided.

Judge Russell Healey sent them back to deliberate on the first and most serious count at around 5 p.m.

If they remain deadlocked, a mistrial will be declared on the murder charge, leaving the state to decide whether to prosecute again in a re-trial.

PREVIOUS UPDATE (10 a.m.) POSTED BELOW

The jury in the murder trial of Michael Dunn entered their fourth day of deliberations this morning.

Following about 30 minutes of  deliberations the jury sent three more questions to Judge Russell Healey:

"Is the defense of self defense separate for each person on each count?"

Credit News4Jax
Judge Russell Healey addresses jurors this morning to answer their questions regarding justifiable use of deadly force and self-defense.

"Are we determining if deadly force is justified for each person on each count?"

"If we determine deadly force is justified against one person, is it justified against the others?"

In discussion with attorneys prior to answering the questions, Healey speculated that the jury may be struggling with the charge of first-degree murder for the shooting of Jordan Davis.

"They could think that justifiable use of deadly force or self-defense was some how applicable to count one," he said. "Justifiable use of deadly force may have been in play to a point, and then it went away."

After some discussion with attorneys, Healey called jurors back in to answer the questions:

"Yes"

"Yes"

"No" - justifiable use of deadly force and self-defense must be considered separately for each count.

"We are in completely uncharted waters," Healey commented during discussion of the questions, referring to the length of deliberations and calling jurors "as hard a working group of people as I've ever seen."

After more than 22 hours of discussion beginning Wednesday afternoon, the jury panel of seven women and five men requested to recess Friday night, stating in a note to Judge Russell Healey that they had "reached a wall."

Dunn is charged with first-degree murder for shooting and killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis.

He's also charged with three counts of attempted murder for firing several shots into the vehicle in which Davis was traveling with his three friends, and he faces an additional charge for firing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle.

WJCT's Kevin Meerschaert (@KMeerschaertJax) will be in court today with updates, and we will bring you news of a verdict as soon as it is delivered.

You can follow WJCT on Twitter @WJCTJax.

Kevin Meerschaert has left WJCT for new pursuits. He was the producer of First Coast Connect until October of 2018.
Patrick Donges served as WJCT's Digital Content Editor from August 2013 - August 2014.