UPDATE: George Zimmerman Charged With Felony Assault Against His Pregnant Girlfriend
Stay classy, gun boy!
George Zimmerman was charged Monday with felony aggravated assault after allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend, according to Dennis Lemma, chief deputy with the Seminole County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.
Zimmerman, who was acquitted earlier this year of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin, was arrested after the incident at the home of Samantha Scheibe, Lemma said. He also was charged with two misdemeanors — domestic violence battery and criminal mischief — in connection with the same incident, Lemma said.
Zimmerman is being held in jail without bail and will make his first appearance in front of a judge Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
According to a police report on the incident, Scheibe said that after an argument Zimmerman broke a table with a shotgun then pointed it at her “for a minute.”
Scheibe called 911 at 12:30 E.T., Lemma said.
On a 911 call recording released by police, a woman can be heard telling authorities: “He’s inside my house breaking all my (things) because I asked him to leave.”
The woman then says to someone at the house, “I’m doing this again? You just broke my glass table. You just broke my sunglasses and you put your gun in my freaking face and told me to get the (expletive) out.”
A man is heard telling her to calm down, but then she tells the dispatcher that the man just pushed her out of the house and locked the door.
Early Monday afternoon, MSNBC and other news outlets reported that George Zimmerman has been taken into custody by Seminole County law enforcement officials. The reports were notable for allegations of domestic violence made by a girlfriend as opposed to his estranged wife Shellie. AP has additional details:
George Zimmerman, acquitted in July in the fatal shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin, was arrested Monday in Seminole County Fla., authorities said.
“He is in custody,” officer Green, with the county sheriff’s office told USA TODAY. He said the booking officer was still filing his report and he had no additional information.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Zimmerman was en route to the Seminole County Jail in Sanford, according to Sheriff Don Eslinger. The Sentinel said it was not clear what happened or what crime he’s accused of committing.
WESH-TV reported that Zimmerman was accused of domestic violence by a girlfriend in the unincorporated area of Apopka.
Zimmerman, 30, was a neighborhood watch in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., when he shot Trayvon, 17, on Feb. 26, 2012. The shooting touched off protests across the nation. Some of the wrath targeted the state’s Stand Your Ground statute, although Zimmerman’s lawyers opted to rely on a more standard self-defense argument at trial.
