Former fiancee of Michael Dunn takes stand

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Strong emotions, tears and a bombshell revelation from the former fiancee of Michael Dunn Saturday afternoon followed a dramatic morning session that saw the judge dismiss a juror and give strong words to the crew in charge of the courtroom camera.

Rhonda Rouer took the stand and started trembling and sobbing as she began to get into what happened on the night of the shooting.

The couple came to town to attend the wedding of Michael Dunn's son. Rouer and Dunn pulled up to the Gate gas station on Baymeadows Road, next to a red Dodge Durango.

Rouer recalled Dunn's first words to her.

"I hate that thug music," Dunn told Rouer, according to her testimony.  "Yes, I know," she replied.

Rouer said she gave Dunn a kiss, and took $3 before walking into the store to buy some wine and chips. She said she could still hear the loud music as she walked up to the store.

Rouer testified she did not hear any arguing.

At the counter, she testified she heard three pops. She said she rushed back to the car where Dunn "urgently" asked her to get in.

She complied, and saw Dunn put a handgun in the glove box. The two left the parking lot very quickly, testified Rouer.

Rouer said they drove straight to the Jacksonville hotel, changed clothes and ordered pizza.

Rouer said after she woke up the next morning she saw a news report about a teen getting killed at a gas station.

Rouer testified she wanted to go home and they left. They didn't stop on the two hour drive home. Rouer said both she and Dunn had cellphones but neither dialed 911.

Rouer told the court she is no longer engaged to Michael Dunn.

"We were very happy," said Rouer, in tears.

Early Saturday morning, Judge Russell Healey excused juror #4 because of a comment made by the juror that got published in Folio Weekly in an article titled, "An Interview with a Dunn Jury reject."

A former Folio staffer who was a potential juror but did not make the final cut heard the juror criticize State Attorney Angela Corey during jury selection, according to Folio.

Here's the quote from the Folio article:

“A 400-pound white schoolteacher who was sitting by me really hated [Corey’s] humor, and made the joke that ‘she would have a hard time proving to a court that I am fat; there would still be reasonable doubt.’”

The Folio writer confirmed to Action News at 12:35 p.m. that it was his article that led to the dismissal of juror #4.

Juror #4, previously known as Juror #32 is a white, married man with a 10-year-old child.  He lives in East Arlington and has been in Duval for 33 years.

The 9 a.m. start was delayed for more than an hour.

Court resumed around 10:20 a.m.

The judge, already angered over the courtroom camera showing a potential juror, asked for the equipment to be turned off as the jury walked into the courtroom.

Testimony began with the Brevard County Deputy Carmine Siniscal on the stand, the state's 19th witness.

Siniscal said he had a "high-risk" arrest warrant for Michael Dunn.  The deputy and two others went to Dunn's home to arrest him.

The deputy said he armed himself with an AR-15 rifle and his sidearm to make the arrest, saying it part of the department's tactics when there is a "high-risk" arrest warrant involved.

Siniscal said he asked Dunn to come out of his home shirtless and with his hands up. The deputy testified Dunn did just that, went to his knees as ordered where deputies placed him in handcuffs.

Siniscal told defense attorneys Dunn showed no resistance or violence at the time of his arrest.

Phillip Miranda took the stand next to discuss about shell casings.

Prosecutors received permission from the court to let the jury handle Dunn's gun.

Homicide detective M.A. Musser followed. He's been with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for about 10 years, a homicide detective for five. He said he responded to the crime scene.

After Rouer's testimony, Sukhan Warf, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab analyst and DNA expert followed. The last state witness of the day was also from the FDLE, Maria Pagan, who is an expert in firearms and ballistics.

Dunn is accused of killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis after an argument over loud music at a Gate gas station on the Southside on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in 2012.

The three teenagers in the Dodge Durango with Jordan at the time of the shooting testified Friday.

Court will not be in session on Sunday and will resume Monday at 9 a.m. Watch continuing live gavel-to-gavel coverage on ActionNewsJax.com. 

WJAX