Mostrando postagens com marcador Martin. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Martin. Mostrar todas as postagens

sábado, 23 de junho de 2012

Video shows Zimmerman's account of Martin fight

AP  MIKE SCHNEIDERORLANDO, Fla. -- Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman re-enacted the fight he had with Trayvon Martin in police video released Thursday, giving his most detailed account yet of what led him to fatally shoot the unarmed black teenager. Zimmerman claims in the video that Martin said "you're going to die" and reached for Zimmerman's gun just before the shooting.

The police recording was taken a day after the Feb. 26 shooting. The video, along with audio recordings of police interviews, was released by Zimmerman's attorney about a week before Zimmerman's second bond hearing on a second-degree murder charge, and on the heels of unflattering telephone calls capturing Zimmerman and his wife talking in code about using money collected for a defense fund to pay credit cards.

At least two lawyers who reviewed the video said Zimmerman appeared believable, but he also statements that were inconsistent or questionable.

In the video (http://apne.ws/KWquJX ), Zimmerman said he grabbed his gun from a holster on his waist before Martin could get it, and shot the 17-year-old Martin once in the chest as they fought on the ground outside townhomes in a gated community. After firing, Zimmerman said thought he missed.

"He sat up and said, 'You got me. You got me, or something like that,'" Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman said Martin had been on top of him, slamming his head against the ground and smothering his mouth and nose with his hand and arm. The tape shows two butterfly bandages on the back of Zimmerman's head and another on his nose. There are red marks on the front of his head.

"It felt like my head was going to explode," he said.

In one of the audio recordings, a detective tells Zimmerman three days after the shooting, that Martin was a "good kid, mild-mannered kid" and asks Zimmerman to explain some inconsistencies, such as why he doesn't have bruises on his body or broken ribs. The two dozen punches Zimmerman claims he took are "not quiet consistent with your injuries," detective Chris Sereno tells him.

Zimmerman claims he shot the teen in self-defense, under Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Martin's parents have said Zimmerman was the aggressor. They said Martin was walking back from a convenience store through the gated community in Sanford when Zimmerman spotted the black teenager and started following him. They claim their son was racially profiled.

Zimmerman's father is white and his mother Hispanic.

Sereno asked Zimmerman about profiling during one of the interviews.

"You know you are going to come under a lot of scrutiny for this," Sereno said. "Had this person been white, would you have felt the same way?"

"Yes," Zimmerman said.

The parents' attorney Ben Crump couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Crump said on his Twitter feed, "Everyone should review Zimmerman's objectively written statement in comparison to the 911 tapes which were previously released."

Crump did not elaborate on his post.

Orlando-area defense attorney David Hill, who has no connection to the case, said Zimmerman came across as "a reasonable guy."

"He came across as being straight-forward," Hill said after reviewing the video. "It doesn't hurt him."

Hill said the video didn't show him to be the zealous "cop-wannabe" that Martin's parents have portrayed him.

Zimmerman called police after spotting Martin walking around the neighborhood and the dispatcher told him not to follow the teen. For reasons that still aren't clear, Zimmerman kept up his pursuit, even getting out of his truck to look for him. He lost sight of Martin and was walking back to his truck when Martin confronted him, Zimmerman said.

"Do you have a problem?" Zimmerman said, quoting Martin.

If Zimmerman's account his accurate, he has a viable "stand your ground" defense, said Blaine McChesney, an Orlando defense attorney who is also not involved in the case.

Zimmerman's attorney has the option of asking for a "stand your ground" hearing in which he will present Zimmerman's account to a judge and ask that the charge be dismissed without going to trial.

McChesney said he found parts of Zimmerman's re-enactment difficult to envision, such as his account of how he was able to reach for his gun with Martin on him. Zimmerman also said he got on top of Martin and restrained him after the shooting.

"I also find it strange that Zimmerman would have attempted to use both his arms to hold Martin facedown, re-holstering his firearm, given those circumstances," McChesney said. "Once out from under Martin's alleged attack, it would have been more logical to hold Martin at gunpoint from a few feet away until police arrived."

Zimmerman's second bond hearing will be June 29. His $150,000 bond was revoked earlier this month after prosecutors said Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, misled the court about how much money they had available for bail.

During the hearing, Shellie Zimmerman testified that they had limited funds since she was a fulltime student and Zimmerman wasn't working. Prosecutors say they had raised about $135,000 from a website set up for his legal defense at the time of the April hearing. Shellie Zimmerman was charged last week with making a false statement.

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Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro, Kelli Kennedy, Laura Wides in Miami, Greg Schreier and Bernard McGhee in Atlanta and Brent Kallestad in Tallahassee contributed to this report.

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sábado, 2 de junho de 2012

Zimmerman's bond revoked in Trayvon Martin case

AP  by KYLE HIGHTOWERSANFORD, Fla. -- A judge on Friday revoked the bond of the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murdering Trayvon Martin and ordered him returned to jail within 48 hours, saying George Zimmerman and his wife misled the court about how much money they had available when his bond was set at $150,000.

Prosecutors claim Zimmerman had $135,000 available that had been raised by a website he set up. Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, testified at the bond hearing in April that they had limited funds available since she was a nursing student and Zimmerman wasn't working.

"He can't sit back and obtain the benefit of a lower bond based upon those material falsehoods," said Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester when he made his ruling.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara said the fact that Zimmerman and his wife never used the money for anything indicated "there was no deceit." Since his release in late April, Zimmerman has been staying at an undisclosed location for his safety.

Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda described the Zimmermans' testimony as "misleading."

"This court was led to believe they didn't have a single penny," said De la Rionda. "It was misleading and I don't know what words to use other than it was a blatant lie."

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder and claims self-defense. Zimmerman shot Martin in February during a confrontation at a gated community of townhouses in Sanford, Fla., where Zimmerman lived and where the 17-year-old Martin was visiting his father's fiancee.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Trayvon Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, said his clients have always said Zimmerman should remain in jail until trial, which O'Mara said he believed wouldn't be until next year.

Crump was asked if he thought that if Zimmerman would be willing to lie about his finances that he would be willing to lie about what happen the night Martin was killed.

"We fully expect that the special prosecutor will make George Zimmerman's credibility be front and center in this entire case," Crump said. "And whatever dishonesty that comes forth by George Zimmerman that they can prove, you can best believe it will be the issue of this case and rightfully so."

Prosecutors also said Zimmerman had failed to surrender a second passport, but Lester dismissed that concern as the equivalent of someone who has lost a driver's license, applies for a new one and then finds the old driver's license.

The delay in an arrest for 44 days prompted protests nationwide and led to Sanford's police chief stepping aside so emotions could cool down.

At Friday's court hearing, De la Rionda and O'Mara 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.

"What's occurring, unfortunately, are cases are being tried in the public sector as opposed to in the courtroom," De La Rionda said. "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."

A consortium of more than a dozen media groups, including The Associated Press, asked the judge to ignore the request, saying such records are presumed to be publicly available under Florida law.

Rachel Fugate, an attorney for the Orlando Sentinel, cited the Casey Anthony trial as an example of a highly publicized case in which a jury was able to be seated despite intense media coverage. The Florida mother was acquitted last year of killing her 2-year-old daughter.

"Discovery in Florida has traditionally been open ... and Florida hasn't encountered problems seating juries and giving defendants fair trials," Fugate said.

O'Mara said Friday on a website that he doesn't expect the case to be ready for trial until next year.

O'Mara said he expects to call on 50 witnesses who need to be deposed before he decides whether to file a "stand your ground" motion which would ask for a hearing before a judge without a jury. At the hearing, Zimmerman would argue self-defense under the Florida law which gives wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat in a fight if people believe they are in danger of being killed or seriously injured.

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sábado, 26 de maio de 2012

Both sides want evidence private in Trayvon Martin case

See it on TV? Check here.AP  MIKE SCHNEIDERORLANDO -- Both sides in the Trayvon Martin murder case want some evidence kept private until trial.

Prosecutors and George Zimmerman's attorneys in motions Thursday asked a judge to keep statements Zimmerman gave detectives and the names and addresses of witnesses from being publicly released. Both items normally would be part of the public record under Florida law.

Prosecutors said some of Zimmerman's statements were inconsistent with physical evidence and statements from other witnesses. "Defendant has provided law enforcement with numerous statements, some of which are contradictory ..." the prosecution's motion said.

Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara also wants to keep private text messages, emails and journal entries the defendant made, at least until he can review them.

O'Mara said releasing the information would "adversely affect the proper administration of justice in this case, and may make it impossible to find an appropriate jury unaffected by this information."

Prosecutors asked that Martin's cellphone records and crime scene photos of the teen's body not be released publicly.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting the 17-year-old Martin during a confrontation in February at a gated community near Orlando.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and claims self-defense. The lack of an arrest in the case for 44 days spurred an international outcry and protests nationwide.

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