© Agence France-Presse/Getty Images/Roberto GonzalezGeorge Zimmerman (C) is escorted by police as he returns to Seminole County Jail
George Zimmerman, 28, faces second degree murder charges over the death of Trayvon Martin, 17, who was heading home from a late night run to a convenience store in Sanford, Florida when he was shot following a confrontation.
The racially-charged case caused an uproar in the United States, mainly over the authorities' initial reluctance to press charges against Zimmerman, who insists that he acted in self-defense in the February 26 incident.
But the judge on Friday revoked Zimmerman's bail and ordered him to return to jail after prosecutors argued he had misled the court about having no money, despite tens of thousands of dollars sitting in online fundraising accounts.
Zimmerman turned himself in shortly before a 48 hour deadline to surrender expired.
Minutes after the accused was escorted back to a solitary cell in handcuffs, defense attorney Mark O'Mara told reporters he planned to seek a hearing to ensure his client is freed.
The attorney said he is "just hoping the judge will give us an audience and we can further explain away why what happened seems to have happened."
O'Mara said he understood that the veracity of Zimmerman's story might have been dealt a blow if the court feels it had been deliberately misled, but insisted it was a misunderstanding.
"I don't think it addresses the case specifically. Certainly there is a credibility question that now needs to be rehabilitated by explaining away what they were thinking when they did what they did if that's what happened. We'll address it," O'Mara told reporters.
The judge in April set Zimmerman's bond at $150,000, but prosecutors say that figure relied on "false representations and statements" by the defendant and his wife.
Zimmerman's wife testified at the time that the couple had no assets or income to put toward a bond. The suspect's father said he was prepared to take out a second mortgage on his house to help raise the money.
Zimmerman's return to jail represents just the latest twist in the case, which prompted protests in several US cities and comments from President Barack Obama, who said if he'd had a son he would have looked like Trayvon.
Prosecutors say Martin was simply "minding his own business" when he was accosted and shot dead by Zimmerman after buying some Skittles and a bottle of ice tea from a local store.
Zimmerman told police he had been tracking Martin after viewing him as suspicious but shot purely in self-defense after being assaulted. Police photos released later showed a bloody gash on the back of the guard's head.
Seminole County Sheriff Donald Eslinger told reporters that Zimmerman was "quiet and cooperative," as he was booked Sunday.
He was to have "a new mugshot taken and would be fingerprinted again, too. He will be kept in administrative confinement with a cell to himself, the same arrangement as before," Eslinger told reporters.
On his website earlier Sunday, O'Mara wrote in a posting that Zimmerman's defense team coordinated his re-arrest with the Sanford Police Department "to ensure Mr Zimmerman's security."
"While out on bond, Mr Zimmerman has been living in a secure, undisclosed location as there are significant threats against his life," added the attorney.
RC's Detailed Local Forecast & a Clarification: a "Guard?" Not.
1. Clarification: a "Guard?" Not!
Compare and contrast:
- a "neighborhood watch volunteer" - First paragraph;
vs.
- "the guard's head." - Fourth from last paragraph.
It sounds likely to be an "English as a Second Language" translator's usage error, though.
2.(a) RC's Local Forecast as of 6/4/2012:
Good Lawyer + Expansive Self-Defense Law + “Conservative” Venue + Reasonable Doubt = Z. WILL be acquitted. (See detailed forecast, infra.) And despite my purposely limited understanding of the primarily MSM originated "facts," which have already and will continue to vary with time,* this is how it should be. (If only such were applied across the board to all people and "crimes." Ah, to dream...)
*Not to be confused with TRUE FACTS, which do not.
2.(b) RC's Detailed Local Forecast as of 6/4/2012:
80% chance of complete acquittal; 12% Chance of Manslaughter; 5% of "other."
Z's lawyer - excellent, per reputation - at one time could ask the court to NOT allow the jury to consider "lesser included offenses," (such as "3rd degree murder," a/k/a "manslaughter") - I don't know if that is still allowed but hope, for the state of US justice, that it is.
As to venue, due to publicity, it MIGHT be moved, and although such is usually requested by the defense, I would not expect such here, as Seminole County is more “Republican” than any other likely venue candidate. Also, the story has broken local boundaries to the point that moving it away wouldn’t ensure that the jury venire (pool of potential jurors) would know less of the case.
R.C.
P.s.,
I’ve heard that Mark NeJame, Esq. was retained as a TV commentator and note that he, too, is very "on the ball," although I know not what the MSM "editing" might do.
Disclaimer: I literally do not watch TV, nor read nor view the MSM, [except very, very rarely, such as when it's unavoidable, or found here or at What Really Happened, (http://whatreallyhappened.com/,)] and, I have generally avoided this story, so I'm not well versed in the particulars here at all. As such, this is simply offered as an expressly limited FYI & IMHO.
RC