BARTOW, Fla. — It appears former Lakeland city Commissioner Michael Dunn has reached a plea agreement just days before he was set to stand trial for second-degree murder.
Dunn was charged with killing an alleged shoplifter as the man tried to leave a store Dunn managed in October 2018.
The surprise announcement came during what was supposed to be a pre-trial hearing. Dunn is charged with killing 50-year-old Christobal Lopez.
Surveillance video from inside the store that Dunn managed, the Vets Army Navy Surplus in Lakeland, shows Dunn grabbing Lopez as he tried to leave the store just before shooting him twice in the torso.
Dunn claimed Lopez had tried to shoplift a hatchet from the store, confronted him at gunpoint, and then fired when he says Lopez went to grab the hatchet from his waistband.
Last year, a Judge denied Dunn’s stand your ground immunity defense.
Over the past few days, there had been a flurry of last-minute motions filed. Some went Dunn’s way while others had not, including the rejection of a pair of expert defense witnesses.
Dunn’s attorneys declined to share any information about the agreement. They said they would not be releasing any details of the plea deal ahead of a court hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
A spokesperson for the court said if the judge accepts a plea deal, Dunn would not be sentenced on the spot. A sentencing hearing would be set for a later date.