Tag: George Zimmerman (page 12)

Some links are via ABC Action News and others are from You Tube.

George Zimmerman's Call to Non-Emergency Police

You Tube version of 2/26 Non-Emergency Call

Witness Interviews

W1 SPD Interview 3/1
W2 FDLE 3/20 Interview
W2 SPD Interview 3/1 Pt.1
W2 SPD March 1 Interview Pt. 2
W3 911 call
W3 FDLE Interview 3/19/12
W5 SPD Interview 3/1
W6 SPD Interview
W6 FDLE Interview 3/20
W6 Interview With Prosecutor
W8 FDLE Interview
W8 Interview with Prosecutor
W9 SPD Interview
W11 FDLE Interview 3/19
W11 SPD Interview 3/2
W12 FDLE Interview 3/20
W12 SAO Interview 3/26
W13 SAO Interview 3/26
W13 SPD Interview 2/26
W14 SPD Interview 3/5v
W15 SPD Interview 2/26
W16 SPD Interview 3/1
W16 SPD Interview 3/2
W17 FDLE Interview 3/20
W18 SPD Interview 2/26
W18 911 call
W19 SPD Interview 2/26
W19SPD Interview 3/1
W20 FDLE Interview 3/19
W20 SPD Interview 3/2
W21 FDLE Interview 3/19
W22 SAO Interview 3/22

Emergency Workers Interviews

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Robert Zimmerman

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For reference only, no comments.

We need another thread to continue the analysis of the George Zimmerman statements, interviews with police and crime-scene re-enactment.

So many were released yesterday, I doubt anyone but true case afficionados have listened to them all. I know I haven't. Yet across the internet, people are cherry-picking, pointing to minor variations as if they are contradictions affecting the totality of George Zimmerman's version of events.

If George Zimmerman told the exact same story over the course of days, people would say it was rehearsed and false. Variations are to be expected, human memory is not like a video recorder, it changes over time. So what is a reasonable test? How about this? [More...]

Attorney Mark O'Mara has released George Zimmerman's written statement, his audio interviews and the video of the re-enactment of the scene (which disappointingly doesn't show anything but a parked car -- it's really an audio of the re-enactment.)

All of the recordings are available here.

I've only read the written statement and listened to the re-enactment so far, so I'll update later today with my thoughts after I've had an opportunity to listen to all the interviews.

Update: For reference, here is the transcript of the 911 call.

Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte has issued a press release stating Police Chief Bill Lee, who has been on paid leave since he submitted his resignation in April, has been terminated.

"After much thoughtful discussion and deep consideration for the issues facing the City of Sanford, I have determined the Police Chief needs to have the trust and respect of the elected officials and the confidence of the entire community. We need to move forward with a police chief that all the citizens of Sanford can support. I have come to this decision in light of the escalating divisiveness that has taken hold of the city."

Interim chief Richard W. Myers will stay on the job while they search for a permanent replacement. I wonder why Myers isn't getting the job permanently.

I don't read much into this. I've seen nothing official to indicate he is being fired because he didn't arrest George Zimmerman right after the shooting, or that the initial determination that they lacked evidence to dispute that Trayvon Martin's shooting was an act of self-defense, was wrong. It was just unpopular with the public, causing friction in the community. This seems to be tying up loose ends, so that Sanford can stop paying his salary when they know he's not returning to the position.

I've uploaded the George Zimmerman jail transcripts and bank records. The transcripts are all in one document so you don't have to download 6 separate transcripts. The bank records may take a while to open, as they are 34 pages and 2.64 MB.

The links to the audio of the calls are here.

Update: Mark O'Mara told Piers Morgan tonight he will introduce another conversation at the June 29 bail hearing. In it, George and Shellie discuss her testifying at the April 20 hearing. George tells her, "Before you testify, pray first and tell the truth." [More...]

Mark O-Mara, attorney for George Zimmerman, has posted the full audiotapes of the six jail calls between Zimmerman and his wife on the website he maintains for the case.

• April 12
• April 15
• April 16
• April 16
• April 16
• April 17

He has also filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider its previous order and keep the remaining jail calls and a statement of W-9 private. W-9 will not be a witness for either party and her statement, which is inflammatory, is not admissible. The state has released the credit union bank records and transcripts of the six calls. I assume the media will publish these.

New Discovery will be out this morning in the George Zimmerman case. It may just be the audio tapes and/or transcripts of the 6 jail calls between George Zimmerman and his wife Shellie Zimmerman.

While we're waiting, here's a question: When the state filed its list of items included in the second round of discovery turned over to O'Mara last week, the list included surveillance video of M&I Bank on Feb. 26, 2012.

Many assumed, including me, it was video of Shellie Zimmerman when she was transferring money. But, it can't be: It was taken on Feb. 26, 2012, the day of the Trayvon Martin shooting, which was a Sunday, and the bank was closed. All that would have been open was an ATM. So what is the significance of the camera surveillance? Some ideas below: [More...]

Update: Mark O'Mara has asked for 30 days to review the jail calls not relied on by the state to revoke bond. Thus of the 151 calls, only the six calls referred to at the bond revocation hearing and in the state's motion will be released Monday.

Also, Khaled Akkawi, owner of Straight-Shoot Gun Shops, confirmed to the media Zimmerman purchased his gun from one of their stores and has used the firing range at their Casselberry store. He said the FBI visited the stores and asked employees whether Zimmerman had displayed any racial animus. Akkawi said his employees told him, "Nothing could be further from the truth."

Keep in mind, as I wrote below, Akkawi and the others listed in his section of the state's disclosure are unlikely to be called as witnesses. They are listed as "Category C" witnesses, which under Florida's discovery rules, applies to: bq.

All witnesses who performed only ministerial functions or whom the prosecutor does not intend to call at trial and whose involvement with and knowledge of the case is fully set out in a police report or other statement furnished to the defense;

Mark O'Mara, attorney for George Zimmerman, filed a pleading today stating he would call two witnesses from All Star Magic Bail Bonds at the June 29 hearing for bond.

I assume they will testify of the difficulty the family had in coming up with the $15,000. bond premium, as evidence that George and Shellie Zimmerman didn't think of the money raised by the website as their money, but money earmarked for legal fees, living expenses while waiting for trial and creditors. O'Mara has said in the past that the Zimmerman's didn't fully appreciate that the money belonged to them.

O'Mara has said he explained to Zimmerman why his belief was wrong, and he now understands.

Shorter version: Zimmerman wasn't lying, just mistaken, and had no intent to deceive the court.

Will he get another bond? Absolutely, in my view. First, he's legally entitled to it. Second, he will have spent 29 days in jail for his mistake -- that's a steep enough penalty. The judge is not concerned Zimmerman is a flight risk. He may not even raise the bond amount since the money is no longer under Zimmerman's control, but the control of a independent third party trustee. [More..]

The Judge in the George Zimmerman case has ruled that George Zimmerman's police interviews and statements are not confessions because they contain no admission of guilt and therefore must be supplied to the media within 15 days. A copy of the order is here. It states:

Upon an in camera review of the Defendant's statements, they do not qualify as confessions, as the Defendant does not acknowledge guilt of the essential elements of the crime. The only element conceded by the Defendant is that he shot and killed the victim, but he does not concede any other elements of second-degree murder. Fla. Stat. §119.071(2)(e) does not exempt the statements from the public record. Since the Defendant admitted at his bond hearing that he shot the victim, disclosure of those statements will not impact the Defendant's right to a fair trial.

[More..]

At the hearing to revoke bond on June 1, 2012, Judge Kenneth Lester said he would issue a written order. Yesterday, he issued his order, which you can read here.

Interestingly, he writes for the first time that the state's evidence is "strong." The state chose not to present evidence on the facts of the case at the April 20 bond hearing, relying instead on its affidavit. The only testimony at the hearing on the facts of the case came from the state investigator, called by the defense, who acknowledged weaknesses in the state's case. The state's affidavit of probable cause, which as has been endlessly discussed, was a one-sided portrayal with factual inaccuracies and no mention defendant's claim of self-defense. It didn't contain evidence of the elements of second degree murder. [More...]

Not a good day for the Zimmermans. Shellie Zimmerman has been arrested and charged with perjury. She has been released on a $1,000.00 bond.

You can read the capias and affidavit for her arrest here. The Affidavit says the money was transferred not only by Shellie Zimmerman into her and George's accounts at the credit union, but also using George's sister's account at the credit union. It also includes transcripts of additional jail calls, none of them good for George Zimmerman. The state says the calls show they transferred and withdrew money from a safety deposit box, and that many of Shellie's deposits and withdrawals were in amounts of $9,000.00, $9,990.00 or $9,999.00, which some might argue shows an intent to evade federal currency reporting requirements. He also directed her to use some of the money to pay their bills.

ABC breaks down the charges here. [More...]