Zimmerman Affidavit of Probable Cause
 

I just read the affidavit of probable cause. Geesh, Louise! It's like Deja Vu of the Duke Lacrosse fiasco.


http://www.foxnews.com/us...affidavit-probable-cause/

I thought the prosecutor was to use all facts available and all witness accounts available in determining probable cause. That doesn't appear to have been done in this case.

The affidavit states that Zimmerman was "told not to follow Martin"...but we all have heard the 911 call and know that to be contrary to what is heard in the 911 call.

The affidavit states that he went to a nearby 7-11 store to get skittles and tea, yet his father said he (the father) was gone until 11:00 and had no idea where Trayvon was.

The affidavit makes no mention whatsoever of any violence perpetrated against Zimmerman...no mention of wounds or witness accounts that told of Zimmerman being beaten by Martin.

It seems to me that the prosecutor used only the witness accounts of Trayvon's mother (it mentions her claim that it is her son yelling...and appears to totally disregard Zimmerman's family claiming it was Zimmerman's voice yelling), Martin's girlfriend, and the witness' whose statements did not include Martin on top of Zimmerman beating him.

Do we have a female Nifong in the making here? Or am I completely misunderstanding the responsibilities of a prosecutor?:eek:

From the public outcry, constant TV coverage and Google carrying the story top of page almost daily, D.C. involvement, everybody expected she would charge - especially since she eschewed a grand jury - no matter what affidavits or police reports said. You wonder if the story were different and Mr. Martin had killed the older watchman, would the public be equally outraged, most network TV news departments so dedicated in carrying it several times an hour and the President speak on the subject. Now we'll see if it is possible for Mr. Zimmerman to get anything like a fair trial. If it turns out Mr. Zimmerman truly stalked Mr. Martin and then killed because a fight ensued that he'd caused, he's probably going to be found guilty but if there is evidence to believe he backed off and the other man instigated, he may not. But from TV and news articles, most legal "experts" really expected her to charge if there were just the slightest doubt of Mr. Zimmerman's story and let the trial process work. From the frank Tweets out there taking bets on how long Mr. Zimmerman will last in jail and the cavalier way the bounty on him is discussed by one and all - even TV commentators, one wonders if he will live long enough to stand trial. I hope there is a way to find out what really likely happened and this man do significant jail time if he really stalked and killed without a real reason since none of us want to see overzealous police wannabe's free to act out their fears & frustrations. But if it happened differently and he was acting judiciously and did kill for fear of his life, I hope there isn't a rush to judgment and a truly innocent man jailed and hated for life.

I know this - neighborhood watch programs will probably suffer as fewer & fewer people will be willing to expose themselves to all of the things that have happened to one of their own as a result of Mr. Martin's killing whether its deemed justifiable or not from the trial. I know I would be scared to death to be a neighborhood watchman without carrying a gun but now I would be just as scared of something happening and being charged with murder if I had to really defend myself where my life/limb were at risk from a would-be weapon-toting robber or something. So probably we'll have fewer neighborhood watch programs even where none carry guns and have to depend more and more on funds-strapped police departments who often have fewer & fewer officers. Hopefully the neighborhood watches won't be affected for too long and once the story dies down, they will regenerate.

I just hope hes in protected custody if not someones gonna kill him and there wont e a trial. I think with all the media pressure they had to arrest him now I hope he gets his day in court. The reason why I think he was arrested was the prosecuter didnt want to e accountale to if there was a crime that took place or not and she just wanted to leave it in the jurys hands

My own feelings on the situation are that the forensics are going to be a big deal, we haven't heard much about them.I suppose that evidence is pretty closely guarded. How close was Trayvon when he was shot? angle of entry and so on. It should be very telling.

I hate to see the block watch groups take a hit as well but the bottom line here is that Zimmerman should not have been carrying a gun while on block watch. I was involved with block watch myself a few years ago and I was also licensed to carry a gun but I never did. Part of the agreement we signed said that while participating in block watch we would not carry a gun and everyone was OK with that, if they weren't they didn't participate.

But then again if memory serves Mr.Zimmerman wasn't running a block watch when the shooting took place, he was on his way to Target.

That's where block watchers are much braver than I could ever be. If I were going to be out there where criminals could be, I would want protection. That's why I could never do it & applaud those that do or did.

He may not have been on block watch but he was acting as a neighborhood assoc person when he approached Trayton. He shouldnt have been carrying a gun. I do think there is accountability needed on his part too that is why it is probaBLY best that its going before a jury. I do feel bad for these parents there Son was viewed as a threat that deadly force was needed and all he had on him were skittles and ice tea. Was the deadly force really needed thats for a Jury to decide after hearing all the evidence

He was clearly told NOT to follow Martin in the 911 call. He was asked if he was following Martin; he replied YES. He was then promply told "We don't need you to do that."

Looks like he did it anyway.

This whole thing is a shame and probably neither party is 100% negligence-free.

I doubt Zimmerman really intended to kill a minor armed with Skittles but, unfortunately, that was the end result of his playing Cop.

Zimmerman imho had no business following anyone. If you think a person is suspicious, you call the police!!! You don't go following people around with a gun in your belt. Period.

I'm confused by these statements. My neighborhood has neighborhood watch, I would move out if people were walking around carrying guns. I mean would you really want your neigbors to carry guns? I thought neighborhood watch meant you were supposed to look for suspicious activity and call the police if you saw something suspicious.

100 % on target here :thumbup: Unless someone enters YOUR home uninvited or just attacks you out of the blue you Do Not follow a suspicious looking person or any other person for that matter, you CALL the Police.
Now if they enter MY home uninvited , they better be prepared to die or be left seriously injured because I'm gonna shoot 1st & IF they are still breathing after I shoot'em, then the questioning will begin.

I thought the same thing. I personally think it was ludicrous that he was driving and walking around with a gun like that. I can see it in your home or even IN your car......but out looking for people carrying a gun and getting out with the gun? No way can I see that as justifyable.

One of Mr. Zimmerman's former lawyers said the dispatcher asked him to give the address where he last sighted the young man and he was going back to look at the block marker when Trayvon Martin thought he was after him again & took exception to it. Said that part was edited out of the 911 call. Don't know if that is true but he said at trial entire call would be played & all could judge for themselves.

Totally agree.

I don't believe him period. As soon as he admitted he was following that kid, it told me enough about him and his motives. Call the police and LEAVE and let them handle it. Get out of your car with a gun in your waistband? No way. You can drive around and get addresses...not to mention the fact he should have known where he was if he lives there.
Probably a good thing I will not be on his jury.

I agree with the fact he shouldn't be confronting them even if he is the neighbor hood watch. Call the police and watch them but don't confront them. Now, if the person showed up at someone's house and a gun is brought out that is a different story. I don't know who is at fault here. I have been seeing this but not truly following it. So, I am not taking sides. But do feel he should not have confronting anyone.

It seems to me he was way overzealous and in the hunter mode, too, but I do want to hear everything there supposedly is before I judge him. I remember in past cases thinking someone was so guilty and later as things came out starting to change, realizing the defense will normally not release much info as the prosecution does beforehand so as to make maximum impact to the actual jury at the time of trial. There is that school of thought that it is best to reveal information that tries to explain the defendant's actions to the prospective jury pool & the public at large but most lawyers don't agree with that. So he does sound guilty now to me but I do want to wait and hear it all. At least we'll probably get to watch parts of the trial since it is in Florida. I just wonder if he can get a fair trial since the prospective jury members may be making up their minds now same as everybody else - from what we've all heard so far and are deciding from that and the circumstances we've all been told about & what seems logical based on that & the fact that he had a gun. After the Casey Anthony trial, I wonder whether all juries actually listen to all the evidence.

Neighborhood watch is just that, we watched and reported. We had a special direct line and reported anything suspicious. There was no stalking or gun play. One of the first things you are taught as a CCW holder and a block watcher....RETREAT! I have been accosted on more than one occasions and have always been able to escape, it's always the best option. Get a description and report to the police, everyone stays alive that way. It does happen that you are forced to defend yourself but not as often as everyone would think.

IMO he should have NEVER been following the kid . If you think about it, if you were walking down the street minding your own business & someone started following you, What would you do ? The kid had NO idea the guy was a neighborhood watchman & how or why would he know that ? The kid did what any rite minded person would do, tried to protect himself from someone following him for who knows what reason but most likely thought whatever the reason, it can't be good so I need to take action before this guy following me does & I end up stabbed or shot myself. Those would be my exact thoughts if someone were following me. 9.99% of the time , when someone is following you it's NOT your best interest they have in mind & that's a fact. This guy had NO business getting out of his vehicle whatsoever & at NO point did he use his better judgement as IF he had, no one would have been hurt or killed. EVERY action has a reaction.

Thanks for the information, I know Arizonians love their guns, but I would hate the thought of someone carrying one around the neighborhood.

Exactly, I LOVE mine but I don't carry it with me unless I'm going to the shooting range.Gotta keep those hands & eyes steady don't ya know & practice makes perfect, lol

I think that Mr. Zimmerman was playing cop and it got a young man killed. He could have just punched the kid in the jaw instead of shooting him. He outweighed the kid by 100 pounds:rolleyes: There are some seriously messed up people out there, walking around with firearms. It's my understanding that Mr. Z was not part of any official Neighborhood Watch organization, he was just "patrolling" the neighborhood. Could be wrong, but I know I heard that on the news back when this first happened.

It's a shame:(

Just want to add here that he was not the 12 yr old kid that the news keeps showing the pic of, he was a youg adult when this happened like 18, 19 or 20. & Mr Z is not all that big. So it was adult on adult, not adult on child as the media would like us all to believe. Just saying;)

It's my understanding that he was 17 ~ which would make him a minor and not an adult.

Not that I agree with it but I know many people who do carry guns all the time.

That man that appeared in court was 100 lbs. heavier than the teenager? Unless he lost the size of a whole person in the last 40 or 50 days, I don't see how that is possible? I know they said he had lost some weight but I don't think he looked that different in court from his arrest video - let alone that much lighter. On CNN, they said the teenager Trayvon was 5 inches taller than the man Zimmerman but I never heard he was that tall and so thin he was 100 lbs. smaller. But whatever size he was, unless he was in grave fear of his life and could not escape somehow, he should have retreated if at all possible & not have used his gun. If somebody were coming for me, I would run, no matter if I had a machine gun hanging off my shoulder. I sure wish all those people that carry guns on a daily basis would run and not just shoot each other. Those young men that are in gangs just shoot each other down and never try to get away either. I will never understand the need to shoot first if you have any chance of getting away.

Do we know for sure he continued to follow Trayvon after he was told not to? Did they ever to a drug test on Trayvon to see if he had been taking drugs? He said he didn't know Trayvon was unarmed that he kept sticking his hand in his waist band like he had a weapon. People carry weapons a lot more then you would think. Zimmerman probably should have just stayed in his car but Zimmerman had the cuts to prove there was a fight so he very well may have been defending himself. There is no way he is going to get a fair trial and that sad. I don't think he would have cooperated as well as he has if he just shot this guy for the heck of it nor would he be weeping in his cell for the first night he was there.

Trayvon weighed 140lbs. George weighs 200lbs, so I was off a bit, but still. Shame he had to shoot him, no matter what. Even if Trayvon was getting the best of him in a fistfight, there was no call for gunplay. George, according to many of his neighbors, had a bad taste in his mouth for "young black males" and could even be guilty of profiling or a hate crime. He had been heard saying that those "@ssh#les always get away".

The media are using that old picture of Trayvon because it elicits more sympathy for the victim, and it is downright irresponsible imho. It has caused so much public outcry that is not good for anyone, and added to racial tensions. One step forward, two steps back Even if he was older than that picture, doesn't make this any less outrageous or tragic.

The "stand your ground" law in Florida is open to so much mis-use:(

Even if the kid was high as a kite, he did not deserve to die. Have the sh#t beat out him in self-defense, sure. But he did not need to be killed. He could have just shot him in the damned leg if he really thought he was in danger, so that he could escape. He was out with his gun, looking for young black males, and that will come out in the trial.

Man, that guy in the arrest video didn't look to be 200 lbs.! He was the smallest guy in that police garage and didn't look paunchy or fat or tall or anything. Was that his weight on the arrest record - 200 lbs.?

Oh, and witnesses saw George sitting on Trayvon's back, and he was FACE DOWN on the ground. Almost like he was running away! Something is rotten with George's version of events here.