George Zimmerman, the man facing second-degree murder charges for fatally shooting an unarmed 17-year-old in a Florida development, has 48 hours to turn himself into authorities because a judge just revoked his bond.
Zimmerman had been out on $150,000 bond, but prosecutors argued that he and his wife conspired to keep the money earned on a website—at least $135,000—a secret from authorities. Zimmerman’s wife said during a bond hearing that they had few funds—Zimmerman wasn’t working, she’s a nursing student. Now prosecutors say “they have recordings of phone conversations between Zimmerman and his wife while Zimmerman was in jail in which they discussed moving money from a PayPal account set up to collect money for Zimmerman’s defense.”
“He can’t sit back and obtain the benefit of a lower bond based upon those material falsehoods,” Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester said today.
On February 26, Trayon Martin was walking home in a Sanford, Fla. gated community after buying iced tea and Skittles from a convenience store. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, felt Martin was “suspicious” and followed him. Zimmerman has claimed that the pair got into a fight where Martin punched him in the face, knocked him down and bashed his head into the sidewalk, forcing him to shoot Martin. Sanford police decided not to arrest Zimmerman, believing his claim of self-defense.
However, others claimed that Zimmerman may have profiled the teen and a national controversy ensued, with even President Obama weighing in. Zimmerman was arrested 44 days after the shooting. Zimmerman pleaded not guilty and had been out on bond; in the meantime, evidence was released to the public, but some witnesses changed their stories, in ways that may be damaging to Zimmerman.
Some evidence has been withheld from the public by the prosecutor’s office. The AP reports that the prosecution and defense “also asked a judge to stop the public release of witness names and statements made by Zimmerman to police officers. Those documents normally are part of the public record under Florida law.” Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda said, “What’s occurring, unfortunately, are cases are being tried in the public sector as opposed to in the courtroom. We are in a new age with Twitter, Facebook, and all these things I’ve never heard of before in my career. Everybody gets to find out intimate details about witnesses that never occurred before. Witnesses are going to be reluctant to get involved.”
Defense lawyer Mark O’Mara also claimed that Zimmerman’s statement affirming that he shot Martin should be counted under an exemption for confessions, but a media lawyer argued that Zimmerman didn’t confess when claiming he shot the boy in self-defense.
News organizations are fighting to get the other evidence. The Orlando Sentinel reports, “News organizations say that’s not fair and not what’s required under Florida’s public records law. Nearly a dozen media companies have filed paperwork, asking the judge to order her to release more. Those companies include the Orlando Sentinel, The New York Times, CBS News, CNN and NBCUniversal.”
