George Zimmerman has been released from custody following Monday's allegedly heated dispute with his sobbing, estranged wife Shellie, who called 911.
On the phone with dispatchers, Shellie Zimmerman claimed that her spouse was threatening her and her father with a gun and that feared for her life.
Local police converged on the home in the Orlando, Fla., suburb of Lake Mary and held George Zimmerman in custody, though he was not arrested.
After speaking to her attorney, Shellie changed her story.
She said she never saw a gun and that she and her father, whom she said Zimmerman had punched in the face, had no interest in pressing charges.
Police later said they did not find a gun on Zimmerman.
The encounter Monday was the latest in a string of incidents in which Zimmerman has landed in the news since his acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case.
Besides Shellie Zimmerman filing for divorce, he's twice been pulled over on suspicion of speeding, and received a ticket on one of those occasions.
He's also appeared in photos at a gun maker that were published online and assisted members of a family from their vehicle following a car wreck.
Monday's dispute isn't uncommon for a couple in the midst of a divorce, said his attorney, Mark O'Mara, who denied any guns or threats were involved.
Shellie Zimmerman had reportedly collected most of her belongings from the house where both she and George had been staying until she moved out.
But she had returned unexpectedly to gather the remaining items and emotions got out of control, although things calmed down once police arrived. Says O'Mara:
"I know the 911 tape suggests that Shellie was saying something but I think that was heightened emotions. There may have been some pushing and touching."
"That happens a lot in divorce situations ... nobody was injured."
George's brother Robert Tweeted, "we've learned from GZ case not to jump to conclusions, to wait for facts & to avoid speculation. 'News' is a business - not your friend."
Prosecutors, though, could still build a case based on surveillance video from cameras outside the house and from the squad cars of officers who responded.
Florida law allows police officers to arrest someone for domestic violence without the consent of the victim, though it's far from a guarantee in this case.
For the time being, "domestic violence cannot be invoked because she has changed her story and says she didn't see a firearm," an official said.
On the 911 call, Shellie Zimmerman is sobbing and repeating "Oh my God" as she yells at her father to get in the house, saying Zimmerman may start shooting.
"He's threatening all of us with a firearm ... He punched my dad in the nose," Shellie said on the call. "I don't know what he's capable of. I'm really scared."
Police investigated and found the situation slightly less alarming.
"We didn't find a gun," Lake Mary police spokesman Zach Hudson said late Monday night. "We didn't find anything that indicated he had a gun on his person."
"She basically said that he made a movement that would be consistent with a movement someone would make if they had a gun," Hudson added.
Hudson said that George Zimmerman was released from investigative detention around 6:30 p.m., after which "he just walked back into the house."
"Right now he's not a suspect in anything per se," he said, but added that authorities were still viewing the video to see what new information can be found.
Hudson said Zimmerman is free to do whatever he wants at this time, but suspects he will not be staying at the same house given the recent publicity.
{ 0 komentar... read them below or add one }
Posting Komentar