George Zimmerman was released from a Florida jail on a $1 million bond on Friday, five weeks after a judge revoked his original bail for having misled the court about his finances.
Mr. Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old who was killed in a confrontation with Mr. Zimmerman in a gated residential community in Sanford, Fla., in February.
His release came a day after the judge, Kenneth R. Lester Jr. of Seminole County Court, ordered bond be raised from the original $150,000 set in April. That bail was revoked on June 1 after the prosecutor presented evidence that Mr. Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, had deceived the court about how much money they had. In ordering the $1 million bond on Thursday, Judge Lester rebuked Mr. Zimmerman for trying to “manipulate the system.”
Looking leaner and wearing a light-colored shirt and a gray suit, Mr. Zimmerman, 28, left the John E. Polk Correctional Facility at the Seminole County Sheriff’s office in Sanford, north of Orlando, shortly before 3 p.m. He had posted the standard 10 percent of the bond, or $100,000, and was fitted again with an electronic monitor. Mr. Zimmerman will be required to pay $9.50 a day to the sheriff’s office for the cost of the monitoring.
The terms of Mr. Zimmerman’s release include tighter restrictions than before, including a requirement that he remain within Seminole County. One of Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers, Don West, said in an interview that his client would be living in a “safe house” with his wife until a more permanent residence is found.
Mr. West also said the defense intended to petition the judge to give Mr. Zimmerman more geographic flexibility while he is out on bond.
“We plan to ask the judge to expand the boundaries of where he can live, certainly beyond the county and perhaps outside of the state because I think his safety would be easier to protect if he is farther away from Sanford,” Mr. West said.
Since Judge Lester’s order was issued on Thursday, supporters have donated about $25,000 to Mr. Zimmerman’s defense fund, Mr. West said. Although the fund had totaled more than $200,000 on Thursday, according to the Web site Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers set up for him for the case, there were about $40,000 in payables for defense expenses, not including lawyers’ fees.
Mr. Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old who was killed in a confrontation with Mr. Zimmerman in a gated residential community in Sanford, Fla., in February.
His release came a day after the judge, Kenneth R. Lester Jr. of Seminole County Court, ordered bond be raised from the original $150,000 set in April. That bail was revoked on June 1 after the prosecutor presented evidence that Mr. Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, had deceived the court about how much money they had. In ordering the $1 million bond on Thursday, Judge Lester rebuked Mr. Zimmerman for trying to “manipulate the system.”
Looking leaner and wearing a light-colored shirt and a gray suit, Mr. Zimmerman, 28, left the John E. Polk Correctional Facility at the Seminole County Sheriff’s office in Sanford, north of Orlando, shortly before 3 p.m. He had posted the standard 10 percent of the bond, or $100,000, and was fitted again with an electronic monitor. Mr. Zimmerman will be required to pay $9.50 a day to the sheriff’s office for the cost of the monitoring.
The terms of Mr. Zimmerman’s release include tighter restrictions than before, including a requirement that he remain within Seminole County. One of Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers, Don West, said in an interview that his client would be living in a “safe house” with his wife until a more permanent residence is found.
Mr. West also said the defense intended to petition the judge to give Mr. Zimmerman more geographic flexibility while he is out on bond.
“We plan to ask the judge to expand the boundaries of where he can live, certainly beyond the county and perhaps outside of the state because I think his safety would be easier to protect if he is farther away from Sanford,” Mr. West said.
Since Judge Lester’s order was issued on Thursday, supporters have donated about $25,000 to Mr. Zimmerman’s defense fund, Mr. West said. Although the fund had totaled more than $200,000 on Thursday, according to the Web site Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers set up for him for the case, there were about $40,000 in payables for defense expenses, not including lawyers’ fees.