After his bond was revoked, George Zimmerman, right, returns to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Fla., Sunday, June 3, 2012. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joshua C. Cruey, Pool)
Fatal shooting » Zimmerman is being held without bail after the judge said he lied to the court about his finances.
Miami • George Zimmerman’s attorney says he expects to file a motion Monday seeking a new bond hearing for Trayvon Martin’s shooter, who surrendered to authorities in central Florida after a judge revoked his bond.
Wearing a button-down checkered shirt, blue jeans and sneakers, a handcuffed Zimmerman was escorted by two deputy sheriffs from a white minivan into the Seminole County jail Sunday afternoon. He did not answer shouted questions from reporters as he was led inside the jail to be booked, photographed and processed.
The former neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting February of Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in a gated community in Sanford, outside Orlando. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense.
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara carefully chose his words in addressing his next move before Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester, who on Friday said he believed Zimmerman and his wife had lied to the court in April about their finances to obtain a lower bond.
"He is in custody now," O’Mara said of Zimmerman, 28. "He’s going to remain there until we get back before Judge Lester if and when he grants us a bond hearing. It sounded like he might consider it. But that is going to be based upon the motion itself."
O’Mara went on to say Sunday that he thinks the defense "explanation, or apology if it is, should go directly to the person who deserves it, in this case that is Judge Lester."
"Again, [we are] just hoping that the judge will give us an audience so we can further explain away why what happened seems to have happened," O’Mara said.
The judge on Friday gave Zimmerman two days to surrender, and about 40 minutes before the 2:30 p.m. Sunday deadline, the Seminole County jail website listed Zimmerman as an inmate. He was being held without bail and had $500 in his jail account, the website showed. A new booking photo showed a clean-shaven Zimmerman, with a fuller head of hair than the crew cut he sported in his April booking photo.
Seminole County Sheriff Donald Eslinger said Zimmerman turned himself in to two sheriff’s deputies around 1:25 p.m. near the jail, and was then driven there.
"He is quiet and cooperative," Eslinger said at a news conference after Zimmerman’s surrender.
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The sheriff’s office said Zimmerman would be in a cell by himself, separated from the general population, because the case is so high-profile. Zimmerman will not have access to a TV.
Prosecutors said last week that Zimmerman and his wife told the judge at a bond hearing in April that they had limited money, even though he had raised about $135,000 through a website set up for his legal defense. They suggested more has been collected since and deposited in a bank account. Defense attorneys say the matter is a misunderstanding.
Zimmerman, who was charged in April in the death of the 17-year-old Martin, was ordered by a judge Friday to return to jail. Zimmerman had been staying at an undisclosed location for his safety.
The judge said Friday he would schedule a hearing after Zimmerman was back in custody so he could explain himself.
His legal team said Sunday they hope Zimmerman’s voluntary surrender will show he is not a flight risk. The money Zimmerman has raised is in an independent trust and cannot be directly accessed by Zimmerman or his attorneys, according to a news release.
Zimmerman maintains that he shot Martin in self-defense under Florida’s so-called "stand-your-ground" law because the teenager was beating him up after confronting him about following Martin. Zimmerman had called 911 to complain about suspicious activity. Martin was walking from a convenience store to the home of his father’s fiancée in the same gated community where Zimmerman lived.
Legal experts say Zimmerman’s credibility could become an issue at trial, noting that the case hinges on jurors believing Zimmerman’s account of what happened the night in February when Martin was killed.
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