Judge revokes Zimmerman's bond By the CNN Wire Staff updated 3:52 PM EDT, Fri June 1, 2012 (CNN) -- A Florida judge revoked bond Friday for George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. Seminole County Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. ordered Zimmerman to surrender to the county sheriff within 48 hours. Lester accused Zimmerman of having misrepresented how much money he had when his bond was originally set in April. The decision came after prosecutors asked Lester to revoke the bond. Prosecutors argued that Zimmerman "misrepresented, misled and deceived the court" during the April bond hearing not only about his family's financial circumstances but also about whether he had a U.S. passport. Outside the courthouse, a lawyer for the family of Martin said Friday's decision is significant. "Judge Lester's finding that George Zimmerman was dishonest is very important because his credibility is the most important thing in this entire case," Benjamin Crump told reporters. "Remember, this is only George Zimmerman's testimony that says Trayvon Martin attacked him. All the other evidence suggests that George Zimmerman pursued and confronted Trayvon Martin. Therefore, that's why this is such an important ruling today." Martin, 17, was shot to death February 26 while walking in a Sanford, Florida, neighborhood where he was staying during a visit with his father. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, told police he shot the teenager in self-defense. The incident spurred protests among people who criticized police handling of the investigation and said Martin, who was unarmed and carrying a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea at the time of his death, was racially profiled. The slain teen was African-American and Zimmerman is Hispanic. Zimmerman, 28, was charged with second-degree murder on April 11 and has been free on bail. In court documents, State Attorney Angela B. Corey acknowledged she was making strongly worded assertions in describing how Zimmerman's wife represented his finances. Zimmerman's defense team stated during an April court hearing that Zimmerman's "family members misinformed the court (the state would use a much stronger and accurate word to describe what occurred -- defendant's wife lied to the court) about defendant and his family's finances," Corey wrote in court papers. She also said that Zimmerman has two passports, and the passport that he surrendered to the court at the April hearing was one that Zimmerman had reported stolen on March 8, 2004, court papers said. That passport was valid until May 2012, Corey said. Zimmerman received a second passport on March 26, 2004, and that one is valid until 2014, she said. The prosecutor asked the court that Zimmerman be ordered to surrender the second passport to authorities. Zimmerman spoke of the second passport while in the Seminole County Jail in a phone call to his wife that authorities recorded, Corey said. Court records provided a partial transcript: Zimmerman: "Do you know what? I think my passport is in that bag." Shelly Zimmerman: "I have one for you in safety deposit box ..." Zimmerman: "OK, you hold onto that." Prosecutors have informed federal authorities about Zimmerman's second passport in case he attempts to use it "to flee the country," Corey said. But Lester appeared to accept the explanation from Zimmerman's lawyer that his client had given him the second passport, and the lawyer simply forgot to hand it over to authorities until Friday. Regarding Zimmerman's finances, Corey alleged that tape-recorded phone calls in April between Zimmerman, while he was in Seminole County Jail, and his wife showed that the couple "spoke in code to hide what they were doing" regarding more than $135,000 in a credit union account belonging to the couple. The money was apparently donated to Zimmerman's website. Zimmerman "fully controlled and participated in the transfer of money from the PayPal account to defendant and his wife's credit union accounts," Corey said in court records. "This occurred prior to the time defendant was arguing to the court that he was indigent and his wife had no money." In late April, Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said that the money raised by the website was put into a trust account that the attorney controls. But Corey stated in court documents Friday: "The money still belongs to defendant and he can demand it at any time." Court papers provided a partial transcript of a phone call allegedly showing the code used by Zimmerman and his wife on April 16: Zimmerman: "In my account do I have at least $100?" His wife: "No." Zimmerman: "How close am I?" His wife: "$8. $8.60." Zimmerman: "Really. So total everything how much are we looking at?" His wife: "Like $155." The prosecutor said the judge "relied on false representations and statements" by Zimmerman and his wife when the court set his bond at $150,000. He was required to post only 10% of that. Corey argued that the court should revoke the bond or increase it "substantially." Lester appeared angry that the court had not been told about the money. "Does your client get to sit there like a potted palm and let you lead me down the primrose path?" he asked Zimmerman's lawyer. "That's the issue." Outside the courthouse, O'Mara said he hopes the judge's revocation of bond would be temporary. "I hope he'll give us a day in court to explain George's behavior and look at all the circumstances," the lawyer said. "I understand the state's position; I disagree with it." Meanwhile, Zimmerman's defense team and prosecutors were both on the same side in court Friday afternoon fighting media companies' request to release more information in the case. Prosecution and defense lawyers argued that a host of material should remain sealed.
So Zimmermen proves that he is a liar and willing to lie to a court and hid a passport and 150 K to possibly flee
Trayvon should get some "product placement" money, yikes every report "Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea". At the time of his death he was carrying "Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea" and had drugs in his system.
The guy is obviously not a flight risk now that he's looking much better since initial coverage of the story. This is all about undermining his credibility later at trial. The prosecution must really have a weak case in terms of witnesses, police reports, forensics, etc. Maybe the prosecutor will get lucky and uncover that the defendant lied on his gun application or cheated on his taxes or something. She probably regrets going for murder 2. A lot is at stake, including her reputation, so everything's on the table. See if the judge makes Zimmerman cool off in jail, offer the minimum under manslaughter, and if that doesn't work, pack the jury.
Like what? At this point, what would the defense agree to? Trespassing? Disturbing the peace? Littering? That Florida Stand Your Ground law is a bitch for the prosecution to overcome.
Jury trail will be much stronger now.Z will lose credibility by being caught lying to a court and having a plan B to flee. He is going to ask jurors to believe him in the court he just lied to