Michael Dunn: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know [Graphic Video]

PCSOMichael Dunn charged with second-degree murder. Stand your ground, the state attorney says, does not apply.

A Lakeland, Florida, city commissioner shot and killed a man in his army-navy store on October 3. More than two weeks later, the Polk County Sheriff has charged him with second-degree murder.

Police said Michael Dunn shot and killed 50-year-old Cristobal Lopez. Police responded to a call of “shots fired” at the Vet’s Army Navy Surplus store co-owned by Dunn. Police said Lopez was lying dead at the entrance of the store with gunshot wounds when they arrived.

The State Attorney’s Office investigated what police spokesman Gary Gross initially said was “some type of incident that occurred inside the store that led to the use of deadly force by Commissioner Dunn.”

State Attorney Brian Haas said that after the weeks-long investigation, he determined that Dunn’s claim he had to ‘stand his ground’ does not apply in this case and the murder indictment was handed down by a Polk County Grand Jury Friday.

The actual shooting at the end of the 7-minute surveillance video may be unsettling for some. The video shows Dunn pulling on Lopez’ shirt as he tries to leave the store with what may be a small hatchet he appeared to have put under his shirt in the first few moments of the released video. Lopez pulls away. Dunn fires and appears to have hit Lopez in the chest. He falls out the door and writhes on the ground as Dunn still has the handgun aimed.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Charged With 2nd Degree Murder 16 Days After the Killing, Dunn Was Ordered Held Without Bond

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Amanda Ciavarri@WFLAAmanda

UPDATE:
Lakeland city commissioner charged with murder in shoplifter’s shooting death will be held in jail for no bond
He will be back in court Nov. 6http://wfla.com/1536482304 

8:25 AM – Oct 20, 2018

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Lakeland police officers arrived at the Vets Army Navy Surplus store at 819 North Florida Ave., “in reference to a shooting” shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3.

When officers arrived they found Lopez “at the entrance of the store with gunshot wounds.” He was “declared deceased by emergency medical professionals shortly after they arrived on scene.”

Police said that according to statements, Lopez came into the store with his father. As his father was making a purchase, Dunn said he saw “Lopez taking and concealing a hatchet, before trying to exit the store.”

Police said that “Dunn stopped Lopez asking him if he was going to pay for the item and a confrontation ensued.”

Police said that Dunn then “fired his weapon” at Lopez.

After a more than two week investigation, authorities announced that Dunn was to be charged. A grand jury was convened in Polk County and State Attorney Brian Haas said it looked at the evidence and returned an indictment for second-degree murder. Dunn was taken into custody Friday afternoon by Bartow and Lakeland police.

In response to questions about the length of the investigation, Lakeland Police Chief Larry Giddens said that while some, including perhaps the family of Lopez, may have wanted to see Dunn charged sooner, he said the investigation took longer because it was done correctly.

With myriad reports, all sent to the state attorney within nine days, he said, there were numerous interviews of witnesses and family, a report from the medical examiner, and investigators took time to analyze the surveillance video. He said the “utmost care” was taken in the investigation so to assure that the victim’s family, the defendant and the community have confidence in what he said was a transparent investigative process.

2. Dunn is Using Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law as a Defense But the State Attorney Says it Doesn’t Apply in This Case

At a rally this past spring, Dunn said he’d vote against using tax dollars to move the monument. Since the Lakeland City Commission voted to move the monument, with the city not coming up with a dime, it falls to private donations to raise the $250,000 relocation cost.

“I actually have ancestors who fought in the Confederacy,” he said. “I see it as a monument to their service, plain and simple.”

A graduate of the Lakeland Citizens’ Police Academy, Dunn was reported to have donated a .38 Derringer handgun to a raffle in support of the Civil War memorial.

5. Dunn, Co-Owner of the Military Surplus Store That’s Been in Business Six Decades, is Married & a Father

Dunn, who graduated from the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Public Leadership Institute, is married to Brandi Bundy Dunn and the couple are parents of one grown son, Lance, a Polk County firefighter and EMT.