JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the jury deliberates in the trial for the three men charged with murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s death, a local father remembers his son’s painful case.
Tuesday marks nine years since Jordan Davis, 17, was shot and killed at a Jacksonville gas station. It started as a confrontation over loud music with Michael Dunn, 54.
Dunn fired 10 bullets into an SUV with Davis and three of his friends. He claimed self-defense, alleging that he saw the teens point a gun at him. Police never found a weapon, besides Dunn’s.
It changed the lives of Davis’ parents forever.
“As the years go on you start celebrating more than being sad,” his father, Ron Davis, told News4Jax.
He is using the somber occasion to celebrate how many families his son’s legacy has helped. The family launched the Jordan Davis Foundation, focused on feeding the hungry and giving scholarships to local children.
Jordan’s mother, Lucy McBath, used her platform to push for peace with organizations like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She ran for a Congressional seat in the Atlanta area and won.
McBath and Ron Davis sat together for not one, but two trials until their son’s killer got convicted and sentenced to life. Dunn’s first trial ended in a mistrial.
Ron Davis is now comforting the family of Arbery. He visited them in Brunswick Thursday.
“I’ve been there,” he said. “I’ve been through trials. I’ve been waiting for just verdicts.”
He sees similarities: the racial divide, the self-defense argument, the call for a mistrial.
Ron Davis said he’s hoping for justice in that case. Ironically, the case went to the jury Tuesday, on the day marking nine years since Jordan Davis’ death. Ron Davis hopes other families find comfort and support as they go through difficult times.
“I just want to thank the Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida community for always remembering that Jordan Davis existed, that he was loved by his family and 23 November will always stand out in their minds,” Ron Davis said.
He pointed out the community helps his son’s legacy live on.
Jordan Davis’ brother and friends held a memorial Tuesday night at the gas station where the shooting happened.