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Pikes Peak Community College

Alternate Ride-Along Assignment
George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, a Case Study




Jame Hunt
Criminal Justice 110 C11
Stacey Hervey
June 27, 2014




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Jame N. Hunt
Professor Stacey Hervey
Criminal Justice 110 C11
June 27, 2014
State of Florida v. George Zimmerman, a Case Study
Trayvon Martin was 17-years old when he was at the wrong place at the wrong time on
the night of February 26, 2012. Just a week before on February 19, he came to visit his fathers
fianc at her rented home located in a gated community that was struggling with crime, in
Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman also rented a home in the same townhome gated
community of which he was the neighborhood-watch captain. The two males met that fateful
night and a fight ensued, ending with George Zimmerman shooting Trayvon Martin. Although
the evidence did not show that Zimmerman committed a crime, sensationalizing of the shooting
by the media caused outrage in the community, putting pressure on officials to charge him with a
crime. This is a review of key events surrounding the case of the State of Florida v. George
Zimmerman.
The State of Florida v. George Zimmerman, case number 592012CF001083A, was the
criminal prosecution of George Zimmerman on the charge of Second Degree murder for the
shooting death of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 (Seminole). Zimmerman was born
October 5, 1983 to Gladys and Robert Zimmerman, raised in a home full of culture as his mother
was born in Peru, and considered Afro-Peruvian; George Zimmerman identified himself as
Hispanic (Gamboa). His father, a magistrate, instilled a judicial interest in his son who wished to
become a judge. In 2007, George Zimmerman and his wife moved to a rented townhome in the
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Retreat of Twin Lakes in Sanford, Florida where Zimmerman lived at the time of the shooting
(Weiner).
Although it was a gated community, The Retreat of Twin Lakes in Sanford, Florida was
familiar with criminal activity. The community initially sold their townhomes for $250,000
however, after the housing bubble in 2011, the value fell below $100,000 in early 2012 (Tuttle).
The According to the Tampa Bay Times, the values of the townhomes changed the demographic
profile of the residents; half of the homes occupied are rentals. From 2011 until the night of the
shooting in 2012, the neighborhood experienced eight robberies and many attempted burglaries
(Tuttle). Crime statistics obtained from City-Data.com show Sanford, Florida experienced a
41.5% increase in burglaries between 2007 and 2011. The police department was dealing with a
gated community of Broken Windows and addressed the problems with Community Policing
with the aid of an organized community Neighborhood Watch, ran by George Zimmerman.
During the time that George Zimmerman was Watch Captain of the Retreats
Neighborhood Watch program, he made 46 calls to police. The Sanford Police Neighborhood
Watch Coordinator, Wendy Dorival testified that the community was worried about recent
burglaries and that the community was not walled in, meaning that people could exit and enter
other than at the gates. At the time of the shooting, Chief of Police Bill Lee was leading the local
police department. Lee, appointed Chief of Police less than a year before, to deal with a
department that was not trusted by the black community, would eventually step down to appease
protesters, angry that Lee did not arrest Zimmerman (Stutzman ,Weiner).
There is no dispute that Zimmerman shot and killed Martin on the night of February 26,
2012; Zimmerman cooperated with the police throughout the investigation. The Sanford Police
Department, who arrived on the scene within one minute of the shooting and did a thorough
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investigation. Evidence showed a fight ensued between Martin and Zimmerman with Martin on
top of Zimmerman when he pulled his concealed weapon and shot Martin in the chest. Within
minutes of arriving on the scene, Officer T. Smith took Zimmerman into custody where they
document injuries to Zimmermans head and released him after five hours. His doctor treated
Zimmerman the next day and later he voluntarily reenacted events at the crime scene. Police
Chief Lee would later state, There is no evidence to dispute Zimmermans assertion that he shot
Martin out of self-defense. However, Martins family held a press conference criticizing the
Sanford Police Department (SPD) investigation and national coverage soon followed.
On March 9, 2014, an attorney for the Martin family announced the filing of a lawsuit to
get public records released and four days later, the SPD turned the case over to the State
Attorney and on March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation. During this
time, media coverage of the shooting sensationalized the story and enraged the public, who
demanded Justice for Trayvon. After Chief Lee stepped down as Police Chief, Florida
Governor Rick Scott appointed Angela Corey, a state attorney for the Jackson area, to take over
the case (Seminole). Special prosecutor Angela Corey decided against a grand jury and
announced she was charging Zimmerman under the provisions of Sections 782.04(2),
775.0872(2), Florida Statutes with Second Degree Murder; Zimmerman surrendered himself
shortly after her announcement (Seminole).
Bail was set at $150,000 after the lead investigator stated they did not have any evidence
contradicting Zimmermans statement that Martin attacked him. Released on bail, his attorney
entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Subsequent issues caused Zimmermans bond revoked
and he complied and returned to jail for an additional 33 days before his bail was reset to $1
million dollars. Public outrage continued with the media fueling the fire as discovery evidence,
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witness statements and 911 calls made public, President Barack Obama commenting, "If I had a
son, he would look like Trayvon" and Zimmermans attorneys asserted their client shot Martin
out of self-defense (Tau).
The attempt to prosecute George Zimmerman would eventually cost the city of Stanford
$902,000, with expenses expected to arise with the cost of civil suits (Stutzman). Although after
the trial started, the judge offered the jury the option of Manslaughter as an alternative to the
Second-Degree murder charge, the jury returned a verdict stating Zimmerman is not guilty
(Seminole). The evidence was never there to convict Zimmerman; instead, his conviction came
from the court of public opinion. George Zimmerman did not use the Stand Your Ground law
as defense, nevertheless public outcry against the law became a focus of the media. Lawmakers
in Florida recently made changes to the Stand Your Ground law, to allow warning shots and
strengthening the law.
Some believe that the system failed Trayvon Martin, a young man in the wrong place at
the wrong time and obviously unaware of the vigilance of the neighborhood watch in the
community he was staying. However, it is not up to the judicial system to make sense out of a
senseless death, it is the Judicial Systems job to find fact and assign responsibility. In this case,
the system showed the police department did their job that fateful night.






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Works Cited
Seminole County Clerk of Courts. 2014. Detailed Information for Case 592012CF001083A.
[Seminole County, FL] The County [2014]. Web.
Gamboa, Suzanne (March 29, 2012). "Florida shooter's race a complicated matter". Associated
Press. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Web
Weiner, Jeff (March 20, 2012). "Trayvon Martin: Who is crime-watch volunteer George
Zimmerman". Orlando Sentinel. 2012. Web.
Tuttle, Ian (July 22, 2013). The Neighorhood Zimmerman Watched. The National Review.
2014. Web
Stutzman, Rene, Weiner, Jeff (March 22, 2012). Sanford Police chief steps down temporarily
amid criticism for handling of Trayvon Martin case. Orlando Sentinel. 2012. Web.
Tau, Bryan (March 23, 2012). If I had a son, hed look like Trayvon. Politico. 2012. Web
Stutzman, Rene. (August 21, 2013). George Zimmerman trial cost public $902,000. Orlando
Sentinel. 2012. Web