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Sunday, April 22, 2012

George Zimmerman Released From Florida Jail on $150,000 Bond

George Zimmerman
George Zimmerman
George Zimmerman walked calmly out Florida jail at midnight Monday after posting $150,000 bond as he awaits trial for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman left the John E. Polk Correctional Facility (JEPCF) at the Seminole County Sheriff's Office accompanied by a man ABC News identified as his possible bail bondsman. The 28-year-old former neighborhood watch volunteer posted bond and was fitted with an electronic monitoring device prior to release, according to a statement from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. He and the man accompanying him were seen getting into white BMW sport utility vehicle.

The GPS device, which can give immediate identification of an offender's whereabouts anywhere in the US, at any given time, according to a statement from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, a possible hint that the defense's request that he be allowed to wait out the trial out of Florida may have been granted.

Zimmerman, who has been charged with second degree murder, was wearing a brown jacket and jeans, and seemed to be carrying his personal items in a brown paper bag, as he walked to a waiting car. The half dozen or so journalists staking out the jail round the clock over the weekend for the moment of his release were caught somewhat off guard.

On Saturday his attorney Mark O'Mara left the jail saying his client may be in jail through the middle of the week, adding, and "The logistics, that's a lot of money to come up with. $150,000 is a lot of collateral. It's not a family of much means, obviously, we all know that from the bond hearing itself, so it's tough. We're still working on it."

At a bond hearing on Friday morning Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000. The prosecution had argued that Zimmerman should be denied bail entirely or that it should be set at $1 million.

Zimmerman is being held on charges of second-degree murder for the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin, 17, which could carry a life sentence if he is convicted.

George Zimmerman stunned a Florida court Friday by taking the stand and apologizing to the parents of Trayvon Martin, who were sitting in the courtroom during Zimmerman's bond hearing.

"I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. I did not know if he was armed or not," Zimmerman said addressing Martin's family directly.

Zimmerman told police the night he shot and killed Martin that he acted in self-defense after Martin punched him and pounced on him. Zimmerman told police that Martin then bashed his head into the concrete sidewalk during the altercation that took place in the tidy middle-class development of the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Fla.

News by ABC News

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