George Zimmerman Second Bond Hearing, Judge Ruling Expected Within Days
A Florida judge is still deciding whether to grant George Zimmerman's bond release for the second time following Friday's bond hearing.
Seminole County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. had previously revoked the 28-year-old's bond for lying before the court during his initial bond hearing in April, and will soon decide whether Zimmerman can be released for a second time while he awaits trial for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, according to CNN.
Lester heard arguments for and against Zimmerman's bond release. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda insisted that he remain in custody after it was revealed that both Zimmerman and his wife Shellie lied about their finances during his initial bond hearing in a bid to deceive the court into believing that they were poor when in fact that had at least $130,000 in donations.
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"He quite frankly was manipulating the whole thing, he was using his wife as a conduit," de la Rionda said.
Zimmerman's defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, admitted that his client knowingly lied about his financials but urged the judge not to make a ruling based on what he considers to be a simple mistake.
"He should have done something and he didn't," said O'Mara. However, argued O'Mara, "it was not the grand conspiracy the state seems to suggest."
"I would suggest that he's evidenced that you can trust him many other times," O'Mara said after insisting that Zimmerman lied only because he was scared and confused.
O'Mara introduced a range of evidence during Friday's hearing and called several witnesses to the stand for questioning.
Among the evidence were financial statements and 911 recordings from the night that Martin, who was unarmed the night that he was killed, was shot.
In one of the recordings, screams were heard from the scene where Martin was killed, and while his family believe that the screams match his voice, Zimmerman's father testified that they were not Martin's and "absolutely" his son's.
O'Mara expects the judge to spend the weekend reviewing the evidence from the case before making a ruling.
