George Zimmerman apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin today during a bail hearing, speaking for the first time in public since he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon on Feb. 26. "I want to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," he said. "I did not know how old he was...I did not know if he was armed or not." The prosecution asked why he waited 50-plus days to apologize, and Zimmerman said he was told not to reach out to the family; but he also said he was "fairly certain" he had asked police at one point to tell the family he felt sorry, but it was apparently never conveyed.
During his testimony, Zimmerman also said he had not changed his version of the events during the investigation. Zimmerman's attorney commented on why he took the stand today: "I took it that the family wanted to hear from him and he wanted to say it," Mark O'Mara said of the apology. He added that Zimmerman has "always wanted to acknowledge" what happened on the night of the shooting. Natalie Jackson, one of the family's attorneys, said the apology was "insulting to the family...This is the most unmeaningful apology we've ever seen in our entire lives."
Prosecution had argued that Zimmerman should get no bond, or $1 million at best, citing his past arrests (including one for domestic violence). O'Mara argued bail should be set at $15,000, and he ultimately won. Judge Kenneth Lester said Zimmerman's bond will be set at $150,000—the family has to secure 10% of that ($15K). He will be placed on GPS monitoring, and will not be released from custody today. He is not allowed guns, drugs or alcohol, no contact with witnesses of the Martin family, and is required to check in with the authorities every three days. O'Mara will discuss whether he can reside out of state and how to secure him. "I'm happy with the way [bond hearing] turned out," O'Mara added.
In addition to Zimmerman, State Attorney's investigator Dale Gilbreath testified earlier in the hearing, and was grilled by O'Mara about the probable cause affidavit he signed for the second-degree murder charge. O'Mara spent some time asking him about the word "profiling" used to describe Zimmerman's behavior that night. Gilbreath said the term indicates that Zimmerman saw the teen, then formed an opinion of him not based on any facts. He also asked about several unattributed statements, including "Zimmerman confronted Martin;" Gilbreath said that according to one witness, "there were arguing words going on before this incident occurred."
Florida officials had been preparing for a possible backlash to the bail hearing, including placing barricades outside Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford, putting an Emergency Operations Center on standby and a SWAT team on alert. "We are prepared for all the contingencies," Sanford city manager Norton Bonaparte told myFOXorlando.com. However, O'Mara noted that it'll take several days at least for Zimmerman to get the money needed for bond.
