High-profile attorney Mark O’Mara, who represented George Zimmerman, is helping defend former Lakeland commissioner Michael Dunn.
At Dunn’s bond hearing Thursday, O’Mara told the judge Dunn was fighting for his life after feeling threatened by alleged shoplifter Christobal Lopez.
O’Mara says Lopez turned to attack Dunn.
Surveillance video released of the Oct 3 incident appears to show Dunn holding Lopez as he tries to run out the door.
Booked on second-degree murder charges, Dunn has been in jail without bond since his arrest last week.
His bond is now set at $150,000.
At Dunn’s bond hearing Thursday, dozens of people came out to support Dunn. His counsel pleaded with the judge for a bond of $15,000 to $25,000 for the second-degree murder case.
“Mike Dunn was acting in a way he thought was necessary in the seconds you have to decide,” said O’Mara.
O’Mara is working alongside Lakeland attorney James R. "Rusty" Franklin, who has represented Dunn from the beginning. Franklin told the judge it was unbelievable Dunn has been held without bond since his arrest.
“That needed to be corrected,” Franklin said. “We’re glad that he’s home. I’m glad Mark has joined the team and that we’re going to be able to investigate this case and defend it.”
Dunn’s counsel brought in three people to testify: Dunn’s wife Brandy, a family friend and longtime employee Dave Duncan.
Duncan was inside the store when the shooting happened.
“I wish I would have snatched the hatchet out of Lopez’s hand,” Duncan said. He detailed the incident as he remembered it happened.
While many say surveillance video incriminates Dunn, O’Mara emphasized it doesn’t tell the whole story, telling the judge Dunn defended himself as best he could.
Prosecutors said the bond hearing was not the time or place to argue the case and only asked the judge for a much-higher bond of $250,000
As part of the conditions of the release, Dunn was placed on house arrest and had to give up all of his guns and ammunition. The judge allowed him to give those to his 24-year-old son.
While he is allowed to work, Dunn can’t work at the military surplus store he owns because it sells weapons.
His lawyer saying this ordeal is a financial strain on his family.
“We will get him employed somewhere here in Lakeland. He knows a lot of people, a lot of people with jobs, so I’m sure the community will come around him,” O’Mara said.
Michael Dunn’s wife Brandy didn’t say much to the media after the hearing.
“I’m happy to have my husband home," she said. "We’re going to let the rest of the process work. Thank you.”
No one from Lopez’s family was in court. Adam Kemp, family attorney for the family, released the following statement:
“Cristóbal Lopez’s family just lost a brother, a son, a beloved family member; their lives have been turned upside down, and they’re trying to cope with this enormous loss as best they can. As a grieving family, they didn’t feel comfortable being at Dunn’s bond hearing, surrounded by the media and in the same room as the man who shot their brother and son, and frankly, there was no need for them to be there. Right now, the family is focused on healing and holding Dunn fully accountable through both the criminal and civil justice systems.”
Dunn's next pre-trial hearing is set for Nov. 13.
O'Mara joined Dunn's defense team earlier this week. He helped Zimmerman get acquitted in the 2012 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He's also a legal expert for CNN.
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