LIVE BLOG: George Zimmerman trial in the Trayvon Martin case
LIVE BLOG - George Zimmerman trial in the death of Trayvon Martin...
UPDATE, 4:50 p.m.: Judge Nelson is calling for the evening recess. She is giving the jury the same instructions to limit communication and research about the case. Court will resume tomorrow at 9 a.m.
UPDATE, 4:34 p.m.: Rumph was asked to collect records of multiple non-emergency calls placed by Mr. Zimmerman. The first call placed by George Zimmerman to the call center was in August 2011.
UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: The next witness, Ramona Rumph, has been called to the stand. She is the records custodian for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and keeps track of the recordings taken by the 911 and non-emergency operators.
UPDATE, 4:20 p.m.: Both attorneys discussed the noises made by the wind and the car door that were detectable on the call recording.
UPDATE, 4:16 p.m.: Noffke said that he was not concerned when Zimmerman asked for the officers to call him instead of meeting at a designated location. He said he was not concerned by Zimmerman’s use of profanity. He said that he did not think the call was more significant because the suspicious person was “out of the area” and Mr. Zimmerman was no longer in danger.
UPDATE, 4:01 p.m.: Noffke said that he did not intend for Zimmerman to do any investigative action. Noffke said, “My intent was to get a location for the officer.” He said that he could not control how others interpreted his question regarding where the suspicious person was running.
UPDATE, 3:56 p.m.: O’Mara is now questioning Noffke. Noffke admitted that the tone of Zimmerman’s voice did not raise a cause for concern. He said that he asked for the suspicious person’s race and clothing description for identification purposes.
UPDATE, 3:44 p.m.: Noffke said that his organization tries to avoid confrontation between callers. He confirmed that he would not tell a caller to “follow or not follow” another person because then he would be liable for any actions by the caller after receiving that command.
UPDATE, 3:38 p.m.: Noffke classified the urgency of the call as a part of standard procedure. He labeled Zimmerman’s call as a “13-p” call about a suspicious person.
UPDATE, 3:34 p.m.: The next witness, Sean Noffke, has been called to the stand. He is a 911 operator and a non-emergency call operator in coordination with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
UPDATE, 3:28 p.m.: Gaugh said that he does not remember much of the transaction.
UPDATE, 3:19 p.m.: Gaugh confirmed that he saw a young man (Trayvon Martin) inside the 7-Eleven, and said there was nothing that caused him concern. He is now looking at a video from the surveillance camera inside the store where Martin bought the Skittles and Arizona.
UPDATE, 3:15 p.m.: The state has called their next witness, Andrew Gaugh. He was employed at 7-Eleven as a cashier in 2012 at the time of the shooting.
UPDATE, 3:11 p.m.: Chad Joseph said that he was playing a game on his PlayStation 3 with over-ear headphones on while Martin went to the store. He said he did not hear arguments or gunshots, and he did not leave his home. He said that he called Martin, but Martin did not answer.
UPDATE, 3:07 p.m.: The state has called their first witness, Chad Joseph. Joseph knew Trayvon Martin because his mother dated Trayvon Martin’s father. Chad Joseph lived with his mother and Trayvon’s father in the same complex as Zimmerman.
UPDATE, 2:48 p.m.: Judge Nelson has ruled that the parents of Mr. Zimmerman are not allowed in the courtroom as long as they appear on the potential witness list.
UPDATE, 2:28 p.m.: West said he has heard that Martin was unarmed and claimed that that statement is untrue. He said, “Trayvon Martin armed himself with a concrete sidewalk”.
UPDATE, 2:22 p.m.: West said that Zimmerman took boxing and grappling classes at the gym to lose weight, not for any “special interests”. According to Mr. West, Zimmerman’s fitness instructor considered him “soft” and not highly skilled in these exercises.
UPDATE, 2:13 p.m.: Don West is talking about the voices on one of the recordings. He claims that Zimmerman’s next door neighbor confirmed that it was Zimmerman’s voice screaming on the tape.
UPDATE, 2:07 p.m.: Court is back in session. Don West, the defense attorney, is continuing his opening statement.
UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.: Judge Nelson has called for a lunch recess. Court will resume at 1:30 p.m.
UPDATE, 12:28 p.m.: West claims that Zimmerman went into work the day after the struggle and was described by a coworker as “emotionally and physically beaten”.
UPDATE, 12:16 p.m.: West explains that Zimmerman was fully cooperative with the police and did not ask for a lawyer during questioning after he was taken into custody.
UPDATE, 12:15 p.m.: A picture of George Zimmerman was shown to neighbors after the struggle, and West pointed out that one of the neighbors could not recognize him because of the injuries that he sustained.
UPDATE, 11:53 a.m.: The defense attorney explained how some of the witnesses provided information that was incorrect. West explains the accounts of another witness that saw Zimmerman and Martin moments before the shooting. He said that the witness saw a person with a dark shirt (supposedly Martin) mounted on top of Zimmerman.
UPDATE, 11:45 a.m.: Mr. West played the 911 call placed by a neighborhood resident while the struggle was going on.
UPDATE, 11:37 a.m.: West said that Martin had ample time to get home after escaping Zimmerman. West claims that Martin said “… what are you following me for?” according to the girl Martin was on the phone with. West claims that Martin “decided” to confront Zimmerman.
UPDATE, 11:29 a.m.: West said that Martin did not go home after running from Mr. Zimmerman.
UPDATE, 11:19 a.m.: West admits that George Zimmerman was following Martin. While on the phone with Zimmerman, the dispatcher asked “which way is he [Martin] running?” West claims that Zimmerman could not answer that question while inside the car because Martin was traveling through a “cut through” that was inaccessible to vehicles.
UPDATE, 11:07 a.m.: West is playing the non-emergency call placed by Mr.Zimmerman on the night of the shooting.
UPDATE, 10:57 a.m.: West claims that Zimmerman was appointed as a liaison between the Sanford police and the community. West said that the jury will hear the expletives used by Zimmerman in reference to Martin, but in their proper context.
UPDATE, 10:50 a.m.: West claims that Zimmerman is not guilty and reacted after being “viciously attacked”. West is now showing the jury a visual diagram of the neighborhood.
UPDATE, 10:47 a.m.: “I think that the evidence will show that this is a sad case.. that there are no monsters here,” said West. He proceeds to make a knock knock joke, which referenced jury selection, that failed to amuse those in the courtroom.
UPDATE, 10:43 a.m.: Court is back in session. Don West is now giving the opening statement for the defense.
UPDATE, 10:08 a.m.: Guy said, “He [Zimmerman] did not shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to.. He did it because he wanted to.” The court has taken a 15 minute recess before the defense gives their statement.
UPDATE, 10:01 a.m.: Guy described the 911 call on the night of the shooting as “bone chilling”. He said, “Listen carefully to that call and listen to when the screaming stops.” Guy claims that the screaming was silenced as the bullet went through Martin’s chest.
UPDATE, 9:49 a.m.: In his opening statements, John Guy told the jury of many inconsistencies in the story the Mr. Zimmerman told the police. He cited physical evidence that the state claims will disprove Zimmerman’s statements such as DNA testing, phone records, and recordings.
UPDATE, 9:35 a.m.: Prosecutor John Guy is now giving the state’s opening statement. “The murder of Trayvon Martin was the product of two worlds colliding,” said Guy.
UPDATE June 24, 9:28 a.m.: Court is now in session. Judge Nelson is welcoming the jury and explaining what their roles will be throughout the trial.
