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Florida to hold new trial on murder charge for man accused of killing teen in music dispute

Judge schedules second trial for Michael Dunn on murder charge in loud music case for September.

By Frances Burns
A button memorializing Trayvon Martin is displayed on a spectator as she attends the festivities of the 50th Anniversary of the "March on Washington" on the National Mall in Washington, DC on August 28, 2013. Tens of thousands attended the 50th Anniversary of the March that included King's famous "I Have a Dream Speech" from the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. UPI/Pat Benic.
A button memorializing Trayvon Martin is displayed on a spectator as she attends the festivities of the 50th Anniversary of the "March on Washington" on the National Mall in Washington, DC on August 28, 2013. Tens of thousands attended the 50th Anniversary of the March that included King's famous "I Have a Dream Speech" from the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. UPI/Pat Benic. | License Photo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 9 (UPI) -- A man who fired at four teenagers will not be sentenced for attempted murder until he is retried for killing Jordan Davis, a Florida judge said Monday.

Michael Dunn's second trial on the first-degree murder charge has been scheduled for Sept. 22. Circuit Judge Russell Healey said he expects the proceedings to take two weeks.

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At Dunn's first trial in the racially-charged case, jurors were unable to agree on a verdict on the most serious charge. Dunn, who got into a dispute with the teenagers over their blaring music while he was at a Jacksonville gas station, says he saw a shotgun -- or thought he did -- and believed his life was in danger.

Witnesses said there were no weapons in the teens' SUV.

Prosecutors asked for immediate sentencing, while Dunn's lawyers asked Healey to postpone it. Roy Davis, Jordan's father, said knowing that Dunn is going to prison would bring some comfort to his family and to the teens who survived.

"I think we should have gotten a sentence by now," he said.

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The shooting occurred in November 2012, 10 months after another black teenager, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman as he walked to a relative's house. Zimmerman was acquitted.

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