Florida judge on Thursday set a $1 million
bond with new restrictions on George Zimmerman, saying he believes the suspect
may have been planning to flee the country to avoid prosecution in the killing
of Trayvon Martin.
Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. found that
Zimmerman's deceit over cash holdings at his first bond hearing in April was
not enough to hold him without bail.
"This court has, thus far, declined to
exercise its contempt powers and the state failed to prove that the defendant
may be held without bond," the order said.
Zimmerman will have to post 10% of the $1
million -- or $100,000 -- to meet the requirement for bail.
But an even bigger challenge is finding a
bail bond company that will work with the family on the requirement of $1
million in collateral, defense attorney Mark O'Mara said later Thursday. The
family does "not have anywhere near" the collateral amount, according
to the attorney.
"We are encouraged we can work this
out," O'Mara said in a statement.
Donations to Zimmerman's legal defense fund
have dropped significantly while Zimmerman has been jailed, O'Mara said.
"Supporters have told us they were
concerned that the court would set such a high bond that getting George out of
jail could risk wiping out the entire defense account. It appears that they
were right. However, George needs an aggressive defense and to help with that
he also needs to be out of jail with his wife and family assisting his legal
team."
The fund has a $211,000 balance, but has
$40,000 in payables for defense expenses.
"Paying bond and scheduled expenses
would effectively wipe out the existing balance," O'Mara said.
O'Mara argued that Zimmerman should not be
jailed because the state's case is weak and his claim of self-defense is strong.
The original bail of $150,000 was revoked
last month after Lester learned Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, had failed to
disclose more than $150,000 in donations from the public.
The judge's order Thursday said that the
new $1 million bond was not a punishment but an amount that assured the court
that Zimmerman would not abscond.
Zimmerman has the money to pay for his
release, the court said.
In his ruling, Lester wrote about the first
bond hearing and noted an undisclosed second passport kept in Zimmerman's safe
deposit box.
"Notably, together with the passport,
the money only had to be hidden for a short time for him to leave the country
if the defendant made a quick decision to flee," the judge said. "It
is entirely reasonable for this court to find that, but for the requirement
that he be placed on electronic monitoring, the defendant and his wife would
have fled the United States with at least $130,000 of other people's
money."
Lester wrote the defendant's plans to flee
were "thwarted."
Zimmerman, 28, is charged with
second-degree murder in Martin's February 26 shooting death. Under Florida law,
second-degree murder is a bondable offense.
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Prosecutors had asked for bond to be denied
or, if not, for it to be set at $1 million.
Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said
the parents preferred that Zimmerman remain in jail, but "they respect the
ruling of the court and the strong message that the judge sent that deference
to judicial integrity is paramount to all court proceedings."
"Furthermore, they understand that
this is not a sprint to justice, but a long journey to justice that they must
bear for their son Trayvon," Crump said.
The order said the evidence shows that
Zimmerman and his wife acted together to conceal their cash holdings during the
original bond hearing.
"Under any definition, the defendant
has (flouted) the system," the order said. "The defendant has tried
to manipulate the system when he has been presented the opportunity to do
so."
Investigator: Zimmerman missed
opportunities to defuse situation
Lester imposed new restrictions on
Zimmerman that he did not face when he was out on bond the first time.
Zimmerman must report to officials every
two days, cannot open or maintain a bank account and cannot be on the property
of an airport. He also cannot apply for or obtain a passport.
Zimmerman must abide by a curfew from 6
p.m. to 6 a.m., and like before, will be monitored electronically.
Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda argued before
the judge last week that Zimmerman should remain in jail without bail because
he was complicit in lying to the court and can't be trusted.
Forensic accountant Adam Magill testified
that thousands of dollars in donated funds flowed into and out of Zimmerman's
bank account in the days before the first bail hearing.
Magill said it appeared Zimmerman and his
wife were speaking in code during recorded jailhouse telephone conversations
about the amount of money involved. He also said that transferring funds
between accounts could have been done to make it appear that Zimmerman had less
money available for bail than he did.
De la Rionda reiterated that prosecutors
believe Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, was an innocent victim who was
confronted by Zimmerman without provocation.
Zimmerman, a Sanford neighborhood watch
volunteer, acknowledged fatally shooting the unarmed Martin after calling
police to report a suspicious person. Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic,
said Martin attacked him.
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