Tag: Trayvon Martin (page 10)

The State's Attorney yesterday filed its 5th Supplemental Discovery notice, stating that pursuant to an earlier court order, it was releasing the names of five witnesses whose statements had previously been provided in redacted form. These are witnesses who appeared in the media and identified themselves. They include Brandy Green, Mary Cutcher and her roommate Selma Mora, Cheryl Brown and her son Austin McClendon, and Cynthia Wibker, former Homeowner Association Treasurer.

Today the state re-released 30 pages of witness statements with the witnesses names filled in. I have uploaded them here. Other witnesses are identified besides the 5 named above.

I think the state misidentified Cutcher and Mora's house number. The notice says it is 2031 Retreat View Circle instead of 2831 Retreat View Circle. 2031 RVC isn't in the first block of houses that back up to the shared path between houses where Trayvon Martin's body was found. I assume it's a typo. (Added: Or else they have moved, but the only address relevant to the case is the one they lived at on 2/26 and that is 2831 Retreat View Circle.)

I think the state should also have released the names of Chad, who has been interviewed with his mother Brandy Green on Fox News, and Witness 18, the "Teacher," who made numerous TV appearances with her attorney. Even though the Teacher didn't use her name, she told her story on TV and the Court's disclosure order isn't limited to those who used their real name.

During his interview of George Zimmerman last night, Sean Hannity asked George Zimmerman "What do you say to Al Sharpton and those who rushed to judgment?" MSNBC today released a statement to Politico:

MSNBC would like to set the record straight following some misinformation presented by Fox News during the interview with George Zimmerman last night," MSNBC wrote in a statement sent to POLITICO. "Reverend Al Sharpton never 'rushed to judgment,' as stated by Mr. Hannity. Reverend Sharpton repeatedly called for calm and for a more thorough investigation in the wake of the tragic events. Ultimately, the authorities agreed an arrest was warranted."

I guess MSNBC forgot about this March 19, 2012 Al Sharpton show. (video here.) Or this Sharpton appearance on the March 21 Joe Scarborough show and this press conference (especially around the 4 minute mark) on the day of his arrest. Sharpton's comments speak for themselves. To say he merely called for calm and a thorough investigation is laughable. [More...]

Thanks to Big Tent Democrat for putting up a thread on George Zimmerman's interview on Sean Hannity's show tonight. I just got back to Denver and am watching now. (I missed the beginning.)

I listened to his jail calls for all 7 hours of the drive back from Telluride -- I didn't finish. But, listening in sequence for so many hours, I got a sense of his personality (as well as that of Shellie, his sister Grace aka Susie, his mother (who talked in Spanish), Ken, and some male cousins.)

I think he was genuine on Hannity. Some highlights below: [More...]

Just Zimmerman here.

Update: Please familiarize yourself with TalkLeft's commenting rules on this case before commenting.

Update: (Jeralyn): I extended my trip for a few days. I'm now in Telluride and have not been online -- not even to read email. This morning I opened my e-mail and there was one from the State's Attorney saying the Witness 9 calls and jail calls were available and additional money had to be in their office by Weds. Since I was not expecting another payment so soon, I did not bring either my fedex account info or a business check with me. Nonetheless, I made it to a bank to get a money order (they don't take personal checks) and to Fedex.

I listened to 2 minutes of the cousin's calls (added: and having previously heard her 2/28 interview) didn't believe a word she said. She was tentative and her tears sounded phoney. That of course, is just my opinion. I'm pretty surprised Judge Lester ordered their release.[More]

In Sanford Investigator Chris Serino's 2 page interview with the FBI, he says he felt pressure from three officers to charge Zimmerman, even though he didn't feel there was enough evidence to charge. He didn't believe Zimmerman was motivated by racial bias. The Miami Herald article is here, and Serino's FBI interview is here.

According to Serino, one of the cops pressuring hims was a Sgt. Barns, who Serino said is a friend of Tracy Martin's. Barns even asked Serino for Martin's phone number. Serino says he ended up getting it from somewhere else. My likely suspect: Team Crump.

Serino told the FBI this during a discussion about his concern that officers were leaking information.

Serino also told the FBI that he didn't think George was racist, but that he may have had something of a "hero complex". [More...]

More news in the George Zimmerman case. He posted the $1 million bail and was released from jail.

The next discovery round will be available to the media on Monday through the court's media website. There are very few blogs with access to the media site -- and we have to pay the same amount for access as the mainstream media. I don't know the amount yet for this batch (we'll be told Monday), but I expect it to exceed $100.00 and I've agreed to pay whatever it is.

If you'd like to contribute a few dollars to help with the cost, it would be appreciated, and you can do so via Paypal, using either your PayPal account or your credit card. Here is the the paypal link. It's very easy (and takes credit cards even if you don't have a paypal account.) Or you can use snail-mail.

[More...]

Via Mark O'Mara and the Zimmerman defense team: They need money and explain why. In order to come up with an additional fee for the bondsman of $85,000 ($100,000 less the $15,000 premium paid for the first bond the bonding company is apparently going to apply to the new bond), they won't have enough left for the costs associated with George Zimmerman's defense (let alone legal fees.)

For those who have given in the past, for those who have thought about giving, for those who feel Mr. Zimmerman was justified in his actions, for those who feel they would do the same if they were in Mr. Zimmerman's shoes, for those that think Mr. Zimmerman has been treated unfairly by the media, for those who feel Mr. Zimmerman has been falsely accused as a racist, for those who feel this case is an affront to their constitutional rights -- now is the time to show your support.

The defense fund is at GZDefenseFund.com.

Doesn't the Court accept real property bonds? I'm surprised there isn't a wealthy Zimmerman supporter in Florida who wouldn't put up real property with $1 million in equity, to avoid needing a bondsman entirely, saving the defense $85,000. The Judge's order doesn't specify it has to be a cash or surety bond. The Judge's approval might be necessary, but it doesn't seem to be prohibited by statute. Other Florida counties/districts take them: [More...]

Update: You can read the bail order here. My analysis is below.

The Judge has set George Zimmerman's bail at $1 million. He has to post 10%, will not be allowed to open a bank account, and must be on GPS. Order to follow. Feel free to discuss here or at TalkLeft Forums.

The Court on page 5 confirms "the State failed to prove that the Defendant may be held without bond." On page 4, he repeats his finding the evidence is "strong", and says that the June 29 hearing was not an Arthur hearing, so the evidence on self-defense presented by the defense is mostly irrelevant. He lists a number of short-comings in the defense presentation at both the April 20 and June 29 bail hearing. [More...]

Update: Judge Lester said today he'll rule on bond Thursday. He has started drafting the order.

As he waits for a ruling on bond, which may come today, Mark O'Mara, attorney for George Zimmerman, has posted the exhibits from Friday's hearing on bond at his case website.

At the June 29 Bond Hearing, the defense submitted a number of exhibits into evidence in an effort to demonstrate the weaknesses of the State’s case against George Zimmerman and illustrate the strength of Mr. Zimmerman’s claim of self defense. As evidence submitted by the defense is to be made public record, we feel it is appropriate to provide it here.

The medical records are here.

TalkLeft readers and commenters: Keep reading below, we have an announcement: [More..]

Thanks to DiwataMan2 for his You Tube posting of a very clear audio of the 2 and 1/2 hour bond hearing yesterday in the George Zimmerman case. It begins with the media arguments. The bond hearing begins at 11:18. O'Mara's closing arguments begin at 2:03.

In between, are the witnesses who were the subject of much discussion yesterday and don't need rehashing, and O'Mara's introduction of evidence: All 11 of George Zimmerman's statements and interviews, and all of the recordings and written statements of Witnesses 6, 11, and 20, all of whom help Zimmerman. The state introduced no witnesses or evidence.

While I linked to the video of the final hour yesterday, the audio in it wasn't clear. DiwataMan2's version is crystal clear, including the Judge's brief comments. [More...]

Investigator Chris Serino will no longer be acting as a homicide investigator starting July 1. He will be on night-time patrol duty. Apparently it's at his own request.

Yesterday, ABC's Matt Gutman responded to a question on Twitter asking if Serino was the leaker by answering yes, Serino was the leaker. But what did Serino leak? I'm not sure that's as clear. The person who asked apparently meant the police station video. [more...]

Update 6/27: The state has just released a voice exemplar of Zimmerman yelling for help. It was taken on March 22, the same date that Zimmerman met with investigators to provide his cell phone and and a consent to search it. You can listen here.

Original Post 6/26/12 below:[More....]