George Zimmerman, the suspect in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, turned himself in to a Florida jail late Sunday, according to media reports.
Zimmerman arrived at the Seminole County jail after a judge ordered him to return just two days prior, according to his attorney, Mark O'Mara, News-13 reported.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Kenneth Lester in a hearing on Friday to revoke Zimmerman’s $150,000 bail. The judge, in siding with the prosecution, said Zimmerman should not benefit from “misrepresentations that the court relied upon,” according to the station.
The judge revoked his bail because prosecutors said Zimmerman’s wife, Shelly, lied to the court about how much money they had. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the decision “came after revelations that Zimmerman and his wife may have conspired to lie about thousands of dollars in donations they'd collected before his bond hearing.”
The prosecution accused Zimmerman and his wife, saying the funds were not mentioned in an earlier hearing. “Defendant has intentionally deceived the court with the assistance of his wife, Shelly Zimmerman. During the jail phone calls both of them spoke in code to hide what they were doing,” the motion stated, according to CBS News.
O'Mara noted that Zimmerman faces an uphill battle to secure a new bond.
“There is a credibility question that needs to be explained away,” he told the Orlando Sentinel, and added that his client’s “credibility has been tarnished and he will have to rehabilitate it.”
At the June 1 hearing, Judge Lester also heard an argument from state prosecutor Bernie De La Rionda that evidence in the case—including the names and addresses of witnesses—should be sealed.
“These witnesses are scared to death to comply,” the prosecutor said, according to the Sentinel, adding that although the information is usually public, “this is a very unique case.”
The defense agreed. “There’s no question that we’re in a new age,” O'Mara is quoted n the report.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin, 17. The suspect is claiming self-defense in the case, saying Martin was beating him up following a nighttime confrontation in February.
Jim Fogarty contributed to this report
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