Zimmerman arrested again for domestic violence

George Zimmerman, who became a national figure after the death of Trayvon Martin, was booked for assault charges on Friday after allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend.

Florida authorities say George Zimmerman, whose acquittal of murdering an unarmed black teen sparked a national debate on race and self-defense laws, has been arrested for allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office says the 31-year-old Zimmerman was arrested for aggravated assault at his home in Lake Mary about 10 p.m. Friday.

Zimmerman was released on a $5,000 bond Saturday afternoon. At a court appearance earlier Saturday, he was ordered to avoid contact with the woman, who was not identified.

Judge John Galluzzo gave few details of the incident, but said a wine bottle was involved and that the alleged assault happened at Zimmerman's home. Prosecutors questioned whether substance abuse treatment was needed, but the judge said that didn't seem to be a factor.

After the brief hearing, Zimmerman's attorney, Don West, told the Orlando Sentinel (http://tinyurl.com/me467wh) his client was arrested after allegedly throwing a wine bottle 'in the direction of' his girlfriend several days ago.

"No injuries, no contact, nothing that I'm aware of that led up to it. It's just one of those things that somehow brought us here," West told reporters.

West didn't know who called police, but said he didn't think the alleged victim placed the call.

Zimmerman was also told by the judge to stay out of Volusia County, where the woman lives.

The judge ordered Zimmerman to pack up any personal belongings his girlfriend may have left at Zimmerman's home and give them to his lawyer.

Zimmerman, who wore blue scrubs and handcuffs, appeared calm during the brief hearing. At one point, he laughed and joked with an officer as he signed paperwork.

Although the incident didn't involve a firearm, the judge ordered Zimmerman to surrender any weapons out of an abundance of caution.

Zimmerman is scheduled to appear back in court on Feb. 17.

No further details about the alleged assault were released. A message left for Seminole County Sheriff officials seeking further information about the incident was not immediately returned Saturday morning.

Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of a second-degree murder charge for shooting an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin.

Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law:

— He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief after his then-girlfriend said he pointed a gun at her face during an argument, smashed her coffee table and pushed her out of the house they shared. Samantha Scheibe decided not to cooperate with detectives and prosecutors didn't pursue the case.

— Zimmerman was accused by his estranged wife of smashing an iPad during an argument at the home they had shared. Shellie Zimmerman initially told a dispatcher her husband had a gun, though she later said he was unarmed. No charges were ever filed because of a lack of evidence. The dispute occurred days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers.

— Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic violations since his acquittal.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Zimmerman arrested again for domestic violence
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2015/0111/Zimmerman-arrested-again-for-domestic-violence
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe