Zimmerman: Once Upon a Midnight Dreary While I Pondered Weak and Weary

Cross posted from Frederick Leatherman Law Blog.
Much of the background noise during the NEN call is unintelligible, but I heard one statement clearly.
"My keys are in the truck." George Zimmerman was out of his truck when he said this to someone.

I also heard what sounded to me like racking his gun to chamber a round, just before he says, "Zimmerman."

I do not believe anyone would get out of their vehicle to chase a potential burglar and leave their keys in it unattended. For example, what happens if that someone doubles back and steals the vehicle?
No, that never made sense to me.

That led me to think that someone was in the truck or George Zimmerman wanted someone to use his truck.

Keeping in mind that GZ lies all the time, he did say that he and Shellie customarily shopped on Sunday night for groceries for the coming week and that he was on the way to do that when he spotted TM.

Could Shellie have been in the truck?

Probably not, because I think we would have heard her objecting to him getting out of the truck to follow Trayvon Martin.

That means he may have wanted someone who lived nearby to use his truck or else someone else got out of the truck with him and accompanied him a short distance before they decided to separate.
Apparently, TM did not mention seeing more than one person to Dee Dee, but he might not have been able to see anyone inside the vehicle after dark, particularly if the windows were tinted, the headlights were on, and he was in front of the vehicle looking back at it. Even from the side, a passenger may not have been visible.

The next question is to whom would GZ have made this statement while he was hunting TM?
READ MORE

GZ and the Immunity Hearing - Dont let O'Mara confuse you

CherokeeNative

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Join date: 2012-07-21

by CherokeeNative Yesterday at 4:11 pm Picture this scene: George Zimmerman and Mark O’Mara are sitting at the defense table intently looking at lead prosecutor Bernie de la Ronda as he approaches the podium, acknowledges the court, looks at the defense table, acknowledges their presence, paces a few steps from the podium and finally turns to the jury and just before his lips part to say the first word, O’Mara holds his breath. But wait, what are the laws under which Zimmerman is claiming self-defense? What will come out of Bernie's mouth at this point is unknown, but we can look to Florida law and the facts and evidence and garner a pretty good idea. O'Mara has gone on the record stating that he will not be defending Zimmerman under the SYG law, but that instead, he will be relying on the general self-defense statutes. This has confused many laypersons for good reason. As you can see from reading the below statute, § 776.032 is an immunity statute - it does not define what constitutes self-defense or under what circumstances the use of deadly force is allowable, but instead provides that one who uses force must qualify with other statutes in order to justify reliance upon § 776.032's immunity. SYG Statute: 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force. (1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term "criminal prosecution" includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant. (2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful. (3) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection (1). Florida Statutes §§ 776.012, 776.013, 776.031. and 776.032 all became effective on October 1, 2005. These four statutes are commonly referred to as Florida's "Stand Your Ground Law". See 2005 Fla. Laws 199, 202. Under the Florida Statutes, Chapter 776, "Justifiable Use of Force" the six statutes below are the only self-defense laws that could possibly apply to Zimmerman's case: 776.012 Use of force in defense of person. 776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm. 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force. 776.041 Use of force by aggressor. 776.06 Deadly force. 776.08 Forcible felony. As you can see from the above list, all of the Stand Your Ground laws are applicable to Zimmerman's case with the exception of 776.032, Use of Force in Defense of Others. What O'Mara will be relying on in addition to the Stand Your Ground laws is § 776.041, Use of Force by Aggressor. The reason O'Mara was so vague in his description of how his client will be defended rests with the fact that he cannot bring himself to admit in public, in front of rolling cameras and live tee vee, that Zimmerman's conduct the night of February 26, 2012, amounted to what Florida law defines as the "aggressor." To make such an admission would go against the defense team's mantra and ongoing media tour to portray Zimmerman anything but a vigilante racist who murdered a young teenage boy who was doing nothing but walking home armed only with a cell phone, some pocket change, Arizona drink and some Skittles. That the defense team has taken this approach in dealing with the public should be a strong indication of how they will proceed to use smoke and mirrors to fool the jurors who will ultimately be judging Zimmerman. I assure you, it will be anything but a search for the truth. READ MORE

WOLFINGER

Wolfinger Warns Adult Bookstores

By Lynne Bumpus-Hooper of The Sentinel Staff, February 11, 1987

State Attorney Norm Wolfinger has put adult-bookstore owners in Brevard County on notice that if they don't start policing themselves, his office will.Wolfinger sent a letter to store owners outlining the jury conviction of adult-bookstore owners Marian and Samuel Wallace. The Wallaces, who operated Leather and Lace in Cocoa Beach, were tried in October and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and 7 1/2 years of probation in January under the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Their case was the state's first RICO conviction involving the sale of obscene materials.

Miller, Wolfinger Are At It Again

May 17, 1987

SO BREVARD County's self-designated guardians of the public morality, Sheriff Jake Miller and State Attorney Norman Wolfinger, have come up with another way to save the people from themselves. They have decided to crack down on your corner video store that stocks videos they consider obscene. Apparently the wave of drugs, robberies, burglaries, and murders that is afflicting our county has not kept our top law enforcement officials busy enough, so they seem to feel the need to make criminals out of legitimate business people who rent videos they find offensive.

Wolfinger Once Again

August 25, 1992

There is more to the state attorney's job than being a prosecutor. For one thing, in the Seminole-Brevard circuit it means managing a $7 million annual budget and a staff of 181 - 79 of them lawyers.That's why Norm Wolfinger is the better choice for voters in the Sept. 1 Republican primary. He has held the job for eight years. While opponent John Galluzzo has some fine qualities, he hasn't made the case that he can do a better job.Since there is no Democrat in this race, the primary winner will assume the office.

Prosecutor Tougher If Victim's White

By Debbie Salamone And Lynne Bumpus Hooper of The Sentinel Staff, June 1, 1992

Norm Wolfinger, state attorney for Seminole and Brevard counties, is hard on killers, especially those who kill whites.He has sought the death penalty about three times more often for killing whites than for killing blacks, Hispanics and members of other minority groups, The Orlando Sentinel found in a survey of murder cases since 1986.His office seeks and wins more capital cases than any other prosecutor's office in Central Florida.And although state attorneys in Orange, Osceola, Volusia and Lake counties also sought death more often for killers of whites, Wolfinger was about 50 percent more likely to do so.Some leaders in the minority community say the research confirms what they have asserted for a long time.

• Top 5 Unanswered Questions About Trayvon Martin Case
• What is the relationship between George Zimmerman’s father, a retired Virginia judge, and the prosecutors and law enforcement?
• Why was no background check conducted on Zimmerman?
• After Wolfinger had already decided against charging Zimmerman, why did Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee say the investigation was being turned over to the state attorney’s office?
• Why did the city manager say police believed Zimmerman’s story, when the lead detective actually didn’t, but was being forced to accept it by the State’s Attorney?
• What is the relationship between Zimmerman and the one eyewitness who allegedly corroborated his account?    

  3 Comments  --

  Suzanne

  Both Wolfinger and Robert Zimmerman are strict Catholics.
  Wolfinger’s only son is named Robert.
  Robert Zimmerman is Robert Wolfinger’s godfather.

  Reply

  April 13, 2012 at 8:33 pm
      

 Why I haven’t trusted Norm Wolfinger – long before Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman

  Wobbly Warrior's Blog

Shut up, Geraldo. Just shut the hell up.

A petition is circulating to get Geraldo Rivera off the air.

And that’s a good thing. But a better thing would be to prosecute and convict Rivera for conspiracy to violate rights … he’s known since the 1980′s that Brevard/Seminole State Attorney Wolfinger is too corrupt to decide whom to prosecute, READ MORE

 

 

New Zimmerman evidence: Serino changed final report four times in five hours

 Former Sanford police Chief Bill Lee Jr., left, and
Detective Chris Serino. (Red Huber,
Orlando Sentinel / March 16, 2012)

By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

6:04 p.m. EST, December 12, 2012

SANFORD – After Chris Serino, the Sanford police detective who led the investigation into the Trayvon Martin shooting death, wrote the most important police report in the case, he revised it at least four times.
And he made at least one huge change: He initially said George Zimmerman should be charged with second-degree murder then changed course and recommended a charge of manslaughter, according to a prosecutor and new list of evidence.

Serino made all those revisions to the report summarizing his findings during one five-hour stretch on March 13, according to a newly-released evidence list.

In the first two drafts, according to Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda, Serino wrote that he had probable cause to recommend a second-degree murder charge. Then, over the next hour, he changed the report twice more and in his final version wrote that the evidence supported the lesser charge.
<a href=" http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-george-zimmerman-serino-changes-affidavit-20121212,0,43028.story ">  READ MORE </a>

New Evidence – George Zimmerman Used “N Word” In Text Message And E-Mail

Sources have confirmed that the prosecution team investigating the shooting death of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman have in their possession new evidence in the form of text messages and e-mails in which George Zimmerman uses the “N Word” when referring who to look out for when on patrol in his Sanford, Florida neighborhood.

This could be the most volatile evidence yet and could be a major blow to the self-defense case Zimmerman’s legal team is trying to build. It is no secret that Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mera is motioning to seal some pieces of evidence until the trial, this could be to halt any change in public opinion that his client did not racially profile Trayvon Martin as he followed him through his neighborhood.  VISIT THE SITE

New Improved George Zimmerman Re-enactment vs. The World

George Zimmerman's lawyers: Cops will testify for us in murder case

They usually testify on behalf of the state.

By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

6:08 p.m. EDT, October 24, 2012

George Zimmerman's lawyers Wednesday notified prosecutors that their witness list now includes a who's who of the Sanford Police Department's chain of command at the time of Trayvon Martin's death, including the police chief, major crimes captain, sergeant and case detectives.

It is an unusual defense strategy. Police officers typically testify for the state, explaining how they gathered the evidence that led to charges. In this case, it suggests that Zimmerman's attorneys believe the testimony of Sanford officers will help — not hurt — their client.

So far, defense attorneys have subpoenaed eight Sanford officers, requiring them to appear. There is no indication that the officers have approached defense attorneys, saying they wanted to help Zimmerman.

Wednesday's defense witness list has on it a dozen names, including former chief Bill Lee; Bob O'Connor, the major crimes captain who oversaw the investigation; Lt. Randy Smith, the former sergeant who supervised the detectives investigating the case; and lead Investigator Chris Serino.
Zimmerman, 29, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, shot and killed Trayvon, an unarmed 17-year-old, Feb. 26 after Zimmerman called police, describing the teenager as suspicious. Zimmerman says he shot Trayvon in self-defense after the high school junior attacked him, pinned him to the ground, beat him and tried to take away Zimmerman's handgun.  READ MORE

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New Audio of George Zimmerman Criticizing Sanford Police in 2011

Forensic Test george zimmerman On Top of Trayvon Martin