George Zimmerman's Second Bond Hearing Ends with No Decision
Friday, June 29, 2012
By: Nicole Creston

June 29, 2012 | WMFE - No decision was made on bail for George Zimmerman Friday at his second bond hearing. The admitted shooter of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin remains in jail on second-degree murder charges while the judge reviews new evidence provided by the defense.

[Image: George Zimmerman mugshot]

Defense attorney Mark O’Mara argued Friday that his client is trustworthy enough for bond again. That’s despite Zimmerman and his wife portraying themselves as nearly broke at an April bond hearing, and failing to mention nearly $200,000 Zimmerman had received in online donations. When Seminole County Judge Kenneth Lester found out about that money, he agreed with prosecutors that the Zimmermans had intentionally deceived the court.

At a hearing on June 1st, Lester revoked the earlier $150,000 bond he’d granted George Zimmerman. Less than two weeks later, Shellie Zimmerman was arrested on a perjury charge. She bonded out the same day.

At Friday's hearing, O’Mara also introduced evidence that he says backs up Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense, like pictures of Zimmerman’s head wounds and witness testimony from a first responder from the night of the shooting. O'Mara also called George Zimmerman's father to the stand to testify that it was his son heard yelling for help on 911 tapes from that night, not Martin, as the teen's family has said.

O'Mara later told reporters that Judge Lester did not have that evidence during the first bond hearing, and it might help his client's case for bail.

“One of the criteria for a judge to decide [bond] is, how strong is the evidence," O'Mara explained. "So, he looks at ties to the community, financial status, whether or not he’s a flight risk, and whether or not he’s a danger, and the strength of the state’s case.”

O'Mara says he's not sure when the judge will rule on whether to grant Zimmerman bond, and if so, how much. He says the new evidence he gave Judge Lester will take about ten hours to review.

Trayvon Martin’s family attended today’s bond hearing. Their attorney remarked later it was difficult for them to be there.