Zimmerman makes court appearance
SANFORD — Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman profiled Trayvon Martin, pursued him, frightened him, confronted him then shot him during a struggle, prosecutors alleged Thursday.
That's what the probable-cause affidavit filed Thursday by Special Prosecutor Angela Corey reveals. It is the first look at the criminal case that prosecutors plan to mount against Zimmerman
The account is strikingly similar to the story that Trayvon's parents, the family's attorneys and civil-rights leaders have told for weeks — that Trayvon was an innocent victim hunted down and killed because he was black.
Notably absent is Zimmerman's account. In that version, Zimmerman is the victim. He told police and his family that he had stopped following Trayvon, 17, of Miami Gardens, and was returning to his SUV when the teenager approached him. He said the two exchanged words, Trayvon knocked him to the ground and then began hammering his head against a sidewalk.
During his first court appearance Thursday, Zimmerman said just two words, "Yes, sir," when asked by Seminole County Judge Mark Herr if he understood that he was charged with second-degree murder.
Herr found the affidavit legally sufficient to establish probable cause and ordered Zimmerman to appear for arraignment — when defendants formally enter a plea — on May 29 before Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler.
Neither Zimmerman nor his attorney asked for bail.
Afterward, defense attorney Mark O'Mara told reporters that now is not the right time for a bond hearing and that he'll raise the issue once he finds somewhere safe for Zimmerman to live.
For now, Zimmerman is being held without bond in "administrative confinement," away from other inmates.
Zimmerman wore a faded one-piece jail jumpsuit and was shackled. He appeared unshaven but still had the goatee that appeared in his booking photo, taken late Wednesday, the day of his arrest.
At a news conference in Jacksonville on Wednesday, Corey refused to discuss what new evidence her investigation had turned up or what justified the second-degree-murder charge she filed against him.
Her lead trial attorney in the case, Bernie de la Rionda, in Sanford on Thursday for Zimmerman's first court appearance, also would not talk about evidence.
But the probable-cause affidavit, prepared by two investigators in her office, spelled out the bare bones of her case.
To Trayvon, it says, Zimmerman was a scary man, following him for some unknown reason. To Zimmerman, Trayvon was someone who was about to commit a crime, "a f------ punk," the affidavit said.
The affidavit offered little new evidence but did make clear the state's position on three key points:
•"Zimmerman confronted Martin," it says, an apparent contradiction of Zimmerman's version of events.
•The state will argue that the voice heard crying for help in the background of one 911 call is Trayvon's. According to the affidavit, Trayvon's mother listened to the recording and identified the voice as her son's.
State investigators will rely on the testimony of a friend of Trayvon's who told them she talked to the teenager on the phone in the lead-up to the shooting and heard the confrontation.
Based on the description, she appears to be the girl described by Martin family attorneys as his girlfriend.
When interviewed by state investigators, "The witness advised that Martin was scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn't know why," the affidavit said.
Trayvon tried to run home, the affidavit says, but Zimmerman ignored the advice of a police dispatcher and continued pursuing him on foot.
For his part, Zimmerman, 28, of Sanford, appeared Thursday to settle in without complaint at the Seminole County jail for what may be a very long stay.
Although he'd been in the Seminole County jail less than 12 hours, by midmorning Thursday, Zimmerman had already spent about $80 at its commissary, buying such things as a deck of cards, a crossword-puzzle book and lots of snacks, including tortilla chips, white cheddar popcorn, beef sticks, chocolate cookies, root beer barrels and Jolly Ranchers.
O'Mara, a well-regarded Orlando criminal-defense and divorce attorney, described Zimmerman as focused and emotionally stable.
"I can interact with him," O'Mara told reporters. "He's in a good place."
Much about Thursday's hearing was a far cry from a conventional first appearance, something afforded everyone who has been arrested and jailed in the previous 24 hours.
Seldom does an elected state attorney appear, but Corey did. She is the state attorney in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
Seldom are dozens of reporters and news crews from around the world parked outside.
And seldom do attorneys successfully ask that the court file be sealed. The hearing appeared to be over and the attorneys were leaving the courtroom when O'Mara stopped, turned around and asked Herr to prohibit the release of court records.
He was concerned, O'Mara said, that witness names and contact information would be released, something that happens in every court case.
De la Rionda quickly agreed, and Herr said yes, except for the four-page probable-cause affidavit.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-12/news/os-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-charged-jail-20120412_1_face-murder-charges-today-show-accident
george zimmerman's Story Falling Apart Fast - Police Car Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVbTFIA5jZs&feature=related
Retired Police Detective Lou Palumbo Analyzes The Zimmerman Arrest Video, Finds Irregularities
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTWrVZoSIwg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVbTFIA5jZs&feature=related
Zimmerman makes court appearance
SANFORD — Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman profiled Trayvon Martin, pursued him, frightened him, confronted him then shot him during a struggle, prosecutors alleged Thursday.
That's what the probable-cause affidavit filed Thursday by Special Prosecutor Angela Corey reveals. It is the first look at the criminal case that prosecutors plan to mount against Zimmerman
The account is strikingly similar to the story that Trayvon's parents, the family's attorneys and civil-rights leaders have told for weeks — that Trayvon was an innocent victim hunted down and killed because he was black.
Notably absent is Zimmerman's account. In that version, Zimmerman is the victim. He told police and his family that he had stopped following Trayvon, 17, of Miami Gardens, and was returning to his SUV when the teenager approached him. He said the two exchanged words, Trayvon knocked him to the ground and then began hammering his head against a sidewalk.
During his first court appearance Thursday, Zimmerman said just two words, "Yes, sir," when asked by Seminole County Judge Mark Herr if he understood that he was charged with second-degree murder.
Herr found the affidavit legally sufficient to establish probable cause and ordered Zimmerman to appear for arraignment — when defendants formally enter a plea — on May 29 before Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler.
Neither Zimmerman nor his attorney asked for bail.
Afterward, defense attorney Mark O'Mara told reporters that now is not the right time for a bond hearing and that he'll raise the issue once he finds somewhere safe for Zimmerman to live.
For now, Zimmerman is being held without bond in "administrative confinement," away from other inmates.
Zimmerman wore a faded one-piece jail jumpsuit and was shackled. He appeared unshaven but still had the goatee that appeared in his booking photo, taken late Wednesday, the day of his arrest.
At a news conference in Jacksonville on Wednesday, Corey refused to discuss what new evidence her investigation had turned up or what justified the second-degree-murder charge she filed against him.
Her lead trial attorney in the case, Bernie de la Rionda, in Sanford on Thursday for Zimmerman's first court appearance, also would not talk about evidence.
But the probable-cause affidavit, prepared by two investigators in her office, spelled out the bare bones of her case.
To Trayvon, it says, Zimmerman was a scary man, following him for some unknown reason. To Zimmerman, Trayvon was someone who was about to commit a crime, "a f------ punk," the affidavit said.
The affidavit offered little new evidence but did make clear the state's position on three key points:
•"Zimmerman confronted Martin," it says, an apparent contradiction of Zimmerman's version of events.
•The state will argue that the voice heard crying for help in the background of one 911 call is Trayvon's. According to the affidavit, Trayvon's mother listened to the recording and identified the voice as her son's.
State investigators will rely on the testimony of a friend of Trayvon's who told them she talked to the teenager on the phone in the lead-up to the shooting and heard the confrontation.
Based on the description, she appears to be the girl described by Martin family attorneys as his girlfriend.
When interviewed by state investigators, "The witness advised that Martin was scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn't know why," the affidavit said.
Trayvon tried to run home, the affidavit says, but Zimmerman ignored the advice of a police dispatcher and continued pursuing him on foot.
For his part, Zimmerman, 28, of Sanford, appeared Thursday to settle in without complaint at the Seminole County jail for what may be a very long stay.
Although he'd been in the Seminole County jail less than 12 hours, by midmorning Thursday, Zimmerman had already spent about $80 at its commissary, buying such things as a deck of cards, a crossword-puzzle book and lots of snacks, including tortilla chips, white cheddar popcorn, beef sticks, chocolate cookies, root beer barrels and Jolly Ranchers.
O'Mara, a well-regarded Orlando criminal-defense and divorce attorney, described Zimmerman as focused and emotionally stable.
"I can interact with him," O'Mara told reporters. "He's in a good place."
Much about Thursday's hearing was a far cry from a conventional first appearance, something afforded everyone who has been arrested and jailed in the previous 24 hours.
Seldom does an elected state attorney appear, but Corey did. She is the state attorney in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
Seldom are dozens of reporters and news crews from around the world parked outside.
And seldom do attorneys successfully ask that the court file be sealed. The hearing appeared to be over and the attorneys were leaving the courtroom when O'Mara stopped, turned around and asked Herr to prohibit the release of court records.
He was concerned, O'Mara said, that witness names and contact information would be released, something that happens in every court case.
De la Rionda quickly agreed, and Herr said yes, except for the four-page probable-cause affidavit.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-12/news/os-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-charged-jail-20120412_1_face-murder-charges-today-show-accident
stand your ground law does not protect zimmerman
Author and NRA member Dave Kopel says Florida law does not protect George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin shooting.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?iid=article_sidebar#/video/bestoftv/2012/03/30/exp-point-kopel-one.cnn
--------------------------------------------------
He didn't appear hurt or anything else."
Sanford, Florida (CNN) -- Someone has stepped up, reporting to have witnessed last month's shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old whose death has sparked nationwide controversy. The witness detailed to CNN the Florida incident from what initially sounded like an argument to its fatal conclusion.
"It would have to be starting with hearing voices, but not seeing, and then, after the voices, opening a window and then seeing -- with two men or two people on the ground, one on top of each other," the witness, who has asked not to be identified, even by gender, told CNN's Anderson Cooper about the February 26 incident in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.
The witness reported hearing through a closed window voices from an area where residents typically walk their dogs. "I thought it was rather loud, but I had just shut my window because it had just started pouring out rain," the witness said. "And then I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, who's out there walking their dog in the rain?' "
But the witness did not immediately look outside to see what the commotion was about, according to the account. "I went and did something else, and then I heard the loud voices again," said the witness, who reported opening the window. "It definitely was a very loud, predominant voice," the witness said. "I couldn't hear the words but it was like, OK, this is not a regular conversation. This is someone aggressively, you know, yelling at someone."
Within a couple of seconds after the shots, one of the men "was walking toward where I was watching, and I could see him a little bit clearer. Could see that it was a Hispanic man. He didn't appear hurt or anything else."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/trayvon-martin-shooting-911-call-screams_n_1394224.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/17/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories