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George Zimmerman bond hearing: 5 new things we learned

A judge ruled Friday that George Zimmerman can go free on $150,000 bond as he awaits trial in the Trayvon Martin case. The hearing turned into a mini-trial when defense attorney Mark O’Mara surprisingly challenged prosecutors' probable-cause affidavit. Here are five things we learned.

5. Amid threats, judge allows unusual bond stipulations

Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/AP
Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. listens to proceedings in the courtroom Friday during a bond hearing for George Zimmerman.

  • By Patrik Jonsson Staff writer

In his decision to allow a $150,000 bond, Judge Lester quickly set aside as "run of the mill" Zimmerman’s two previous brushes with the law – an assault arrest and an injunction over an allegation of domestic violence – and said the case at hand was his main focus.

Because of various threats made against Zimmerman, the judge said he would allow Zimmerman to move to another state for the time being, if it can be arranged, given that he wear a GPS locator and check back in with Florida authorities every three days.

“I’m concerned [for his safety], I just am,” O’Mara said. “There’s been an upswelling in this case because of the way it was handled initially, and that seems to be focused on George. Now that we see the evidence, maybe that frustration will be refocused away from George. We’ll see. I would hope so.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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