Loud

Jurors deliberated for a fourth day Saturday in the trial of a white Florida man who shot and killed a black 17-year-old boy after an argument ensued over the teenager and three others playing loud rap music.

Michael Dunn, 47, says he was acting in self-defense when he shot at an SUV 10 times while parked next to the four teens at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station in November 2012.

The shots killed Jordan Davis of Marietta, Ga. Dunn is charged with first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of firing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle.

The case has been compared to that of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of murder in the shooting death of unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin in Florida. Like the Zimmerman trial, the case has drawn international attention due to racial overtones and its connection to gun and self-defense laws.

On Saturday, the sequestered jury of 8 whites, 2 blacks, one Asian and one Hispanic resumed deliberations at 9 a.m. A half hour later they asked if they can rule whether self-defense was applicable to any of the five counts individually. Judge Russell Healey answered, 'Self-defense or justifiable use of deadly force applies separately for each count.'

If Dunn is found guilty on all counts, he faces life in prison. Prosecutors have said they would not pursue the death penalty.

On Friday night, before announcing, 'We have reached a wall for this evening,' the jury asked if they were allowed to reach a verdict on some counts and remain deadlocked on others. Healey said Florida law allowed for this, and addressed the question again on Saturday.

'Each count has to by law be considered separately,' Healey said, adding that he realized, 'It's not easy to compartmentalize these things.'

Analysts told Reuters that the jurors may be unable to agree on the first-degree murder charge, which asserts that Dunn's choice to kill Davis was premeditated. The jury could decide to convict Dunn of lesser charges, including second degree murder or manslaughter, which former Miami prosecutor David Weinstein said was a possibility given the lengthy deliberations.

But if the jury is hung on the first-degree murder charge, Dunn can potentially be retried. Even if Dunn is convicted on the counts of attempted murder on the three surviving teens, he faces up to 60 years in prison, analysts said.

The jury had deliberated for more than 20 hours before they entered their fourth day Saturday, according to NBC Miami.

Dunn, who has a concealed weapons permit and no prior convictions, was waiting in his car while his fiancée was buying snacks inside the gas station convenience store when he got into a verbal fight with Davis and his friends over the volume of their music.

'This defendant may have forever silenced Jordan Davis, but he cannot silence the truth.'

While testifying in his own defense on Tuesday, Dunn said that he started shooting because he felt threatened when he thought he saw the barrel of a gun emerge from the back window as Davis allegedly started getting out of the Dodge Durango.

Police said they didn't find a weapon in the SUV the teens were in, and prosecutors said Davis - who has no arrest record - never exhibited a physical threat. Prosecutors also said forensic evidence proved that Davis never left the SUV.

Still, defense lawyer Cory Strolla argued Wednesday that Dunn 'had every reason to stand his ground,' using language pointing to a controversial self-defense law allowing people to use deadly force in lieu of retreating if they feel endangered by another person.

But Assistant State Attorney Erin Wolfson said, 'This defendant does not get to claim self-defense.'

'This defendant may have forever silenced Jordan Davis, but he cannot silence the truth,' Wolfson added.

Davis' 19th birthday would have been Sunday.

NBC News' Elizabeth Chuck and Reuters contributed to this report.

First published February 15 2014, 10:50 AM