DALLAS COUNTY (WBAP/KLIF News ) – Testimony has begun in the murder trial of a former Farmers Branch Police Officer stemming from a police sting that took a deadly turn on June 12, 2019.
Michael Dunn told investigators he opened fire at a stolen truck in a Northwest Dallas shopping enter and killed the suspect police were surveilling, 35-year-old Juan Moreno Junior.
He claimed he feared for his life because Moreno was driving a stolen pickup truck towards him. Security footage showed the truck drive past Dunn when he started shooting.
A Dallas County grand jury indicted Dunn on a murder charge less than a month after the fatal encounter.
Prosecutors argue Dunn was not in the truck’s path, thus not in direct danger. They also assert that others could have been injured when Dunn fired his gun.
According to our media partner WFAA TV, officers who were on the scene testified on Monday about Moreno’s known status as a local truck thief.
They told jurors detectives put a tracker on the alleged stolen truck.
Dunn’s attorneys argue that Dunn was forced to make a split-second decision. The then medical examiner, Dr. Tracey Dyer, confirmed that Moreno was high on methamphetamines the night of the fatal shooting.
The 13-year Farmer’s Branch PD veteran decided to have a judge rather than a jury decide his fate.
If convicted, Dunn faces up to life in prison. A federal case was filed against Dunn in June 2021.
Moreno’s family filed a lawsuit against the City of Farmers Branch.
Copyright 2023. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved.
