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Sanford, FL-- A judge set George Zimmerman's bond at $1,000,000 Thursday. This was the second time Zimmerman asked to be released while he awaits trial for the February shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester revoked Zimmerman's $150,000 bond last month after prosecutors said Zimmerman and his wife misled the court about how much money they had during an April bond hearing. Prosecutors said Zimmerman created a website for his legal defense that had raised $135,000 at the time of his first bond hearing, but they failed to mention it.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their arguments in a second bond hearing on June 29. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked for a $150,000 bond, while the state asked the court to keep the defendant behind bars without bond.
O'Mara argued in court papers that his client is no threat to the public and proved he wasn't a flight risk by returning to jail when his bond was revoked. O'Mara said that although Zimmerman should have admitted that his wife wasn't telling the whole truth when she testified that the couple had no assets, it doesn't make Zimmerman a grand conspirator as the state seems to suggest.
O'Mara also argued that the bulk of the more than $200,000 raised by the website was turned over to a third-party administrator and Zimmerman has no control over the money.
But Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda disagreed, saying Zimmerman's wife lied to the court and the defendant just sat there and let it happen. He said the bottom line was that on April 20, the day of Zimmerman's first bond hearing, there was over a $100,000 in the Zimmerman's account.
The former neighborhood watch volunteer was charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin on Feb. 26 in a gated apartment community in Sanford. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and claimed the shooting was self-defense under the state's "stand your ground" law.