The future George Zimmerman Acquittal Trial Megathread!

[garbon]

http://news.yahoo.com/george-zimmerman-arrested-disturbance-call-185152769.html

George Zimmerman arrested after disturbance call

Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was arrested Monday in Florida after deputies responded to a disturbance call at a house, authorities said.

Zimmerman will be transported and booked into jail, a Seminole County Sheriff's Office statement said. Authorities provided few other details, and it was not immediately known what charges he faced. Messages for comment left by The Associated Press with the sheriff's office were not immediately returned.

Zimmerman, 30, was acquitted in July of all charges in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The death of the black teenager, who was unarmed, touched off a nationwide debate about race and self-defense. Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has said he shot the 17-year-old to defend himself during a fight in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.

He wasn't charged until 44 days after the shooting, leading to protests nationwide from people who believed he should have been immediately arrested. The case sparked accusations that Zimmerman had racially profiled Martin, and demonstrations broke out again after his acquittal. Federal authorities are now reviewing the case the see if Martin's civil rights were violated.

Zimmerman's arrest at a house in Apopka, about 15 miles from Sanford, was just his latest brush with the law.

Zimmerman and his estranged wife were involved in a domestic dispute in September just days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers, but police later said no charges were filed against either of them because of a lack of evidence.

Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic stops since his acquittal. He was ticketed for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone in Lake Mary in September and was given a warning by a state trooper along Interstate 95 for having a tag cover and windows that were too darkly tinted. He was also stopped near Dallas in July and was given a warning for speeding.

In 2005, Zimmerman had to take anger management courses after he was accused of attacking an undercover officer who was trying to arrest Zimmerman's friend. In another incident, a girlfriend accused him of attacking her.

[Eddie Teach]

What a mook.

[derspiess]

Man, drama just seems to follow some people around.

[Caliga]

CNN has a thing up saying that he was arrested for pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend.

He may not have gone to jail for Trayvon Martin's murder, but it looks like he's determined to end up in prison anyway.

[Valmy]

CNN has a thing up saying that he was arrested for pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend.

He may not have gone to jail for Trayvon Martin's murder, but it looks like he's determined to end up in prison anyway.

I was about to say: this guy wants to live dangerously. 

[mongers]

CNN has a thing up saying that he was arrested for pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend.

He may not have gone to jail for Trayvon Martin's murder, but it looks like he's determined to end up in prison anyway.

I was about to say: this guy wants those around him to live in danger.

FYP

[Razgovory]

Man, drama just seems to follow some people around.

That tends to be the case with criminals.

[Ed Anger]

Bitch set him up

[DGuller]

I don't see how this case would hold up either, it's another he-said-she-said.  This won't stop until he's starring in another murder trial.

[derspiess]

Man, drama just seems to follow some people around.

That tends to be the case with criminals.

Sure, why not.  Never said he was my hero.

[Razgovory]

I don't see how this case would hold up either, it's another he-said-she-said.  This won't stop until he's starring in another murder trial.

Doesn't seem to stop after that either.

[Savonarola]

Do all white Hispanics get both "Get out of jail free" cards, or is it just Zimmerman? 

George Zimmerman will not be charged in domestic dispute, prosecutor says

George Zimmerman's latest brush with the criminal-justice system ended Wednesday, when State Attorney Phil Archer announced that Zimmerman will not face charges in a domestic incident last month.

Archer's decision came days after the named victim, Zimmerman's then-girlfriend Samantha Scheibe, signed an affidavit recanting the allegations that led to Zimmerman's arrest Nov. 18 at the home they shared.

"I do not want George Zimmerman charged. I make this decision freely, knowingly and voluntarily, without any intimidation, coercion or undue influences," Scheibe said in her affidavit.

In a statement Wednesday, Archer said the Seminole County Sheriff's Office had probable cause to arrest Zimmerman after Scheibe called 911 and reported Zimmerman was armed and behaving threateningly.

"However, upon reviewing the recent affidavit ... and taking into account the conflicting statements about what occurred, the failure to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, and a lack of any other corroborating evidence or witnesses, there is no reasonable likelihood of successful prosecution," said Archer, the top prosecutor for Seminole and Brevard counties.

In her call to police, Scheibe reported that Zimmerman "was in my house breaking all my [stuff] because I asked him to leave. He has his ... gun breaking all of my stuff right now."

Deputies said she also claimed Zimmerman had pointed a shotgun at her. That led to his arrest on suspicion of aggravated assault with a firearm, but before prosecutors could file formal charges, Scheibe's affidavit changed the equation.

"George never pointed a gun at or toward my face in a threatening manner," said Scheibe's affidavit, which was signed Friday and accompanied a motion by his defense attorney to allow Zimmerman and Scheibe to see each other.

"I want to be with George," Scheibe said.

In its statement Wednesday, Archer's office stressed that domestic violence is a matter "of great concern" but said, in light of the affidavit, that it could not meet its burden against Zimmerman beyond a reasonable doubt.

Carol Wick, CEO of the domestic-violence agency Harbor House of Central Florida, said it's all too common for domestic cases to end because the victim recants or doesn't want to testify: "That pressure to recant is just immense."

For victims in domestic-violence cases, the perpetrators "know where you live, they know where you shop, they know where you work ... this is somebody who knows everything about you, and that makes it scarier," Wick said.

In these cases, Wick said it's important for law enforcement to "have really good collection of evidence." That way, "if the victim is intimidated, you don't have to worry about ... putting them in that position," she said.

After prosecutors declined to file charges, Zimmerman was released from his bond conditions. That means he can once again possess guns, and he'll no longer have to stay away from Scheibe or wear a GPS device.

Zimmerman's South Florida attorney, Jayne Weintraub, credited Archer and Assistant State Attorney Christopher White, who she said did the right thing in light of the Scheibe affidavit.

"They discussed with me their concerns; I discussed with them our view ... that they would not be able to have a sustainable case," she said.

Weintraub said she hoped Zimmerman would be able to return to a normal life.

Asked whether Zimmerman planned to continue his relationship with Scheibe, the defense lawyer called that "a personal decision."

"For George, I think he has to try and put this whole sequence of nightmares behind him and go forward," Weintraub said. "He's young, he's smart and he's got his whole life ahead of him."

[garbon]

Well she recanted and so like they said, they probably wouldn't be able to successfully prosecute him.

[DGuller]

I wouldn't worry, eventually he'll shoot someone and it'll stick.

[garbon]

The bullet?