Trayvon Martin case: George Zimmerman offered $150k bail after he apologizes to victim’s parents

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Trayvon Martin case: George Zimmerman offered $150k bail after he apologizes to victim’s parents

April 20th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Judge set bond at $150,000 and orders several conditions including GPS monitoring device
George Zimmerman, who looked gaunt at hearing, will not be released today
Came as graphic photo emerged showing second degree murder suspect’s bloody head on night of killing
Judge ordered Zimmerman to surrender his passport in hearing
The suspect’s wife Shellie spoke out for first time via telephone and said her husband is ‘not violent’
She revealed she has been receiving hate mail and did not appear in court today because she was afraid

By
Beth Stebner

PUBLISHED:

08:24 EST, 20 April 2012

|

UPDATED:

16:31 EST, 20 April 2012

George Zimmerman apologised to the parents of slain teenager Trayvon Martin today as the murder suspect dramatically came face-to-face with the victim’s family for the first time, saying: ‘I am sorry for the loss of your son… I did not know if he was armed or not.’

Zimmerman, 28, made the brief statement as he appeared on the witness stand in a Florida court during a bail hearing over whether he should be released on bond.

His attorney requested that bond be set at no more than $15,000 but the state of Florida argued it should be set at $1million. The judge eventually set bail at $150,000 meaning the second degree murder suspect can be released as he awaits trial.

Scroll down for video: WARNING Graphic content below

Apologies: Zimmerman dramatically apologised to the parents of Trayvon Martin at today's bond hearing

Apologies: George Zimmerman dramatically apologised to the parents of Trayvon Martin at today’s bond hearing

Grim meeting: Sybrina Fulton, left, and Tracy Martin, centre, sit with their attorney Benjamin Crump, right, in the court house; for the first time, they sat yards away from their son's killer

Grim meeting: Sybrina Fulton, left, and Tracy Martin, centre, sit with their attorney Benjamin Crump, right, in the court house. They sat yards away from their son’s killer for the first time

Bail set: Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. set Zimmerman's bond at $150,000, and gave strict conditions in relation to the bond, including no alcohol, drugs, and firearms

Bail set: Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. set Zimmerman’s bond at $150,000, and gave strict conditions in relation to the bond, including no alcohol, drugs, and firearms

Addressing Trayvon Martin’s family directly Zimmerman said: ‘I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit older than I was.’

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set several conditions for Zimmerman’s release, which he said would not occur today.

He did not say exactly when Zimmerman could go free. His attorney, Mark O’Mara, also wants his client to be allowed to live in another state because of threats made against him, and wear a GPS monitor to track his whereabouts.

Zimmerman must also check in with the state every three days, and he will not be allowed to work in public.

The 28-year-old is charged with second degree murder for the February 26 killing of the 17-year-old.

While on the stand, the prosecution
asked why Zimmerman waited so long to contact Martin’s parents.
Zimmerman said he was told not to by his own lawyer.

‘I
was told not to communicate,’ he said. Zimmerman sat stiffly while
testifying, keeping his expression blank and blinking frequently.

He was questioned for about five minutes before the judge dismissed him from the stand.

Good news: Zimmerman smiles with a member of his defense team after he was granted bond; he now awaits trial

Looking up: Zimmerman looks up at one of his attorneys before the hearing began

Stone faced: Zimmerman arrived in court today for his bond hearing looking gaunt; he wore a dark suit and had his hands, which were in shackles

Contrast of emotions: Zimmerman looks up at one of his attorneys, left, after arriving stony-faced for the bail hearing

Getting situated: Zimmerman takes the witness stand as he is assisted by a law enforcement official

New evidence? ABC News exclusively obtained this photo of George Zimmerman's bloodied head, three minutes after he killed Martni

Possible evidence? ABC News exclusively obtained this photo of George Zimmerman’s bloodied head, three minutes after he killed Martin

Zimmerman’s wife,
Shellie, who has remained silent for the months following the shooting,
spoke for the first time in court today via telephone, saying her
husband is not a flight risk.

Mrs Zimmerman is a nursing student four weeks away from graduation, but chose not to testify in person due to safety concerns.

NO DRINK, DRUGS, OR GUNS: CONDITIONS OF ZIMMERMAN’S BOND

Circuit
Judge Kenneth Lester set several conditions Friday for Zimmerman’s
release. He cannot have any firearms, drink alcohol or use drugs and
must observe a curfew. He will also have a GPS monitoring device.

The
judge says details need to be worked out between Zimmerman’s attorney
and law enforcement, and that Zimmerman will not be released Friday.

She admitted during cross-examination that she has not reported the hate mail to the police.

Zimmerman’s bond hearing comes as ABC News published a graphic photo
showing his bloodied head the night Martin was killed, adding
plausibility to Zimmerman’s story that the teenager bashed his head into
the sidewalk.

Mrs Zimmerman, who said her husband is ‘absolutely not a violent person, nor a threat to the community,’ also revealed that she has been receiving hate mail following the February shooting.

Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman,
testified via telephone to the courts, saying that his son never
demonstrated violent behaviour, and was always one to ‘turn the other
cheek.’

‘He’s been honest his whole life,’ Mr Zimmerman said.

Stern: George Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara addresses the court during the hearing; he requested that Zimmerman be able to live out-of-state because of the threats to his life

Stern: George Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara addresses the court during the hearing; he requested that Zimmerman be able to live out-of-state because of the threats to his life

Cross examination: Assitant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda also questioned the Neighbourhood Watch captain

Zimmerman’s mother, Gladys, said her
son was ‘very protective’ of vulnerable people such as the homeless and
children. She described how he got involved in a mentoring program for
children in Orlando, noting that both of the children he mentored were
African-American like Martin.

Gladys Zimmerman said she was
concerned about her son’s safety in that program because he traveled
twice a month to a dangerous neighborhood.

‘He said, ‘Mom, if I don’t go, they don’t have nobody,”’ Mrs Zimmerman said.

‘I DID NOT KNOW IF HE WAS ARMED’: ZIMMERMAN TAKES THE STAND

George Zimmerman testified today prior to being offered bail. During his time on the stand, he apologised directly to the parents of Trayvon Martin.

He said: ‘I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. I did not know if he was armed or not.’

Speaking after the hearing to reporters, the Martin family’s lawyers slammed Zimmerman’s apology as insincere and cheap.

One said: ‘This was the most disingenuous, insincere thing I have seen. For him to get on the stand and object to any other questions about relative evidence…there’s a time and a place, and the time and place is to do it face to face and make it meaningful.’

Prosecutor Bernardo de la Rionda
asked the family members about two incidents. In 2005, George Zimmerman
had to take anger management courses after an undercover law enforcement
officer accused him of attacking him as he tried to arrest Zimmerman’s
friend.

In another incident, a girlfriend accused Zimmerman of attacking her. No charges were filed.

The hearing provided a few glimpses into the evidence amassed by investigators, and in some cases evidence they do not have.

Dale Gilbreath, an investigator for
the state attorney’s office, testified that he does not know whether
Martin or Zimmerman threw the first punch and that there is no evidence
to disprove Zimmerman’s contention that he was walking back to his
vehicle when confronted by Martin.

Mr Gilbreath also said evidence does
not back up parts of Zimmerman’s story, such as his claim that Martin
was slamming his head against a sidewalk just before he pulled out his
handgun and shot the teenager.

‘That is not consistent with the evidence we found,’ said Gilbreath, who did not provide details.

Zimmerman’s case may have improved
slightly with the release of a new photograph, showing the back of
Zimmerman’s bleeding head following the incident.

The photo, obtained and
released exclusively by ABC News, shows blood trickling from the crown
of Zimmerman’s head. ABC News notes that the blood is likely coming from two gashes.

Time and place: Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, answers reporters' questions outside of the court house

Time and place: Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, answers reporters’ questions outside of the court house

Day in court: Tracy Martin, left, and Sybrina Fulton, centre, are escorted into the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center by their attorney Benjamin Crump, right, prior to the hearing

Making way: The parents had to walk through a sea of camera crews and reporters

Setup: Cameras were rolling to capture the dramatic new developments today

The police report from the night of February 26 also noted that Zimmerman was bleeding from his nose.

However, Zimmerman was not sent to the hospital, nor did he receive stitches. Rather, he was treated by paramedics and brought in for questioning.

Robert Zimmerman’s testimony was aligned with the bloody photograph. He said his son had a swollen lip and was bleeding from his nose and head after the confrontation.

Despite their testimony, Zimmerman was forced to surrender his passport to the court, Reuters reported.

Legal experts say factors in
Zimmerman’s favor include that he has ties to the local community and
that he doesn’t appear to be a flight risk since he turned in
voluntarily after second-degree murder charges were filed against him
last week.

He also has never been convicted of a crime, which would indicate he doesn’t pose a threat to society.

Friends and family of Zimmerman have reported numerous death threats against him.

Day in court: Zimmerman last appeared at a bond hearing on April 12, again with his hands shackled

Family ties: Trayvon's parents, Tracy Martin, left, and Sybrina Fulton, right, pose together with their son Jahvaris in New York, April 12

Family ties: Trayvon’s parents, Tracy Martin, left, and Sybrina Fulton, right, pose together with their son Jahvaris in New York, April 12

Martin was shot and killed in a gated
community in Sanford following a confrontation that began, according to
the probable cause affidavit, after he was ‘profiled’ by Zimmerman as a
criminal.

Yesterday, the Daily Beast exclusively reported that Martin’s last words were, ‘Okay, you got it.’

According
to an unnamed police source, Zimmerman told police that Martin repeated
the phrase twice after being shot and collapsed face-first on the
ground.

The source said
Zimmerman was unaware that Martin was fatally wounded and lunged to get
on top of him, possibly to hold him down.

Police
released Zimmerman, who was a neighbourhood watch volunteer at the time
of the shooting, after saying they found no probable cause to arrest
him based on his account of self-defence.

That
ignited a firestorm of protests and intense media scrutiny — public
pressure that forced the Sanford police chief and the regularly assigned
prosecutor to step aside.

Zimmerman
was finally arrested on April 10. He has spent the last 10 nights in a
67-square-foot cell in Seminole County’s John E. Polk Correctional
Facility.

Slow progression: An undated photo shows Zimmerman smiling, before the shooting, left, his booking photo after he was charged with second-degree murder, centre, and when he first appeared in court April 12

Zimmerman

Trayvon

National outcry: Zimmerman, left, was arrested April 10 after the February shooting of Trayvon Martin, right

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Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

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I hope Mr. Zimmerman has a fair trail. The media is so bias that is chocking. I wonder why the news do not put an up to date picture of the young man . Beacause the pics that I saw on the website doesn’t look like this one that they are showing us at all. I just wonder why…

– Sereia, Destin, FL, 20/4/2012 21:25

He lost quite a but if weight

– Peeka boo, La la land, 20/4/2012 20:32

This is just a really tragic story. I really do believe that Zimmerman feared for his life. I’m glad we finally have a good image of his head injury, unlike the one NBC tried to pass off. The media have really grossly influenced this case imo.

– Tifany, Alabama, USA, 20/4/2012 20:23

I read somewhere that on the 911 call when the operatror asked how old Trayvon was, Zimmerman responded that he looked like he was in his teens. That will be awkward since now he’s saying he thought he was older than himself.

– Pak31, USA, 20/4/2012 20:19

You protect your head from injury. Everyone does.

– That’s me, in the center, 20/4/2012 18:50

You can see in Zimmerman’s face that since February he has lost a lot of weight.

– Stevie, Manhattan, 20/4/2012 18:30

I’m really sick over all the media on this case. Zimmerman is never going to get a fair trial, because of all the media attention. Hopefully all concerned will come out of this with a lession learned in this. I pray that Zimmerman is given a chance to prove how things happened the way they did and the family of Martin will also have some closure. I still feel that Zimmerman should have not followed the kid to begin with but he did appears a fight started and Martin died. I feel bad that he died but also feel bad for Zimmerman.

– C Franklin, Columbia SC, 20/4/2012 17:22

Why does the news media still show pictures of a twelve year old Trayvon Martin?

– Rick, USA, 20/4/2012 17:14

A current photo of Trayvon would be more accurate.

– Lori, Oregon, 20/4/2012 17:08

So, it is likely that Zimmerman confronted/followed Martin and that led to an altercation that led to Zimmerman shooting Martin. Based on the evidence that is a reasonable supposition. So what have we learned?
1) Neighbourhood watches are fine if you just call the police when you see something suspicious.
2) Follow 911 operator instructions – Zimmerman was specifically advised not to follow Martin.
3) Don’t carry a gun – it’s rare that you will use it to save your life – you are more likely to use it by accident/misunderstanding.
4) Had Zimmerman not being carrying a gun he would have felt less empowered and less likely to follow Martin in the first place.
America has silly gun laws and that will continue to ruin tens of thousands of peoples lives every year.

– Liam, Wolverhampton, 20/4/2012 17:05

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