"The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman. If Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party's concern," the detective wrote in a police affidavit. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/det ... 23670.html
A Texas man convicted of shooting and killing his unarmed neighbor during a dispute over loud music received a 40-year prison sentence on Wednesday.
Raul Rodriguez, 47, faced a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison. He claimed he shot schoolteacher Kelly Danaher in self-defense under Texas' version of the "stand your ground" law.
But prosecutors argued Rodriguez provoked the incident by confronting Danaher, 36, and his friends with a handgun and demanding they quiet down at a late-night birthday party in May 2010.
The Houston case captured more attention in the wake of Trayvon Martin's death in Florida. There, George Zimmerman says he was being attacked and cited the state's "stand your ground" law after shooting the unarmed teen. But prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder.
Two dozen states reportedly now allow citizens to stand their ground even outside their home. The specifics vary by state, but generally justify a person not retreating and using deadly force when a threat is perceived.
As in Florida, Texas law includes public areas, "if a person has a right to be present at a location where force is used."
But veteran attorney Andy Drumheller told Yahoo News that the Houston jury appeared to draw a line with Rodriguez leaving his home and going down the street.
"The law is not designed to create this bubble that you can carry with you everywhere you go," said Drumheller, a former prosecutor now practicing criminal defense in Houston. "The jury's verdict is a cautionary statement on the limits of this defense."
The Rodriguez case is also unique because the former firefighter was recording video during much of the ordeal.
Rodriguez, who had been calling police about the loud party, dialed 911 again as both sides shouted at each other near Danaher's dark driveway.
"Tell you what, pal, you just pulled a gun on the wrong [expletive], OK?" one of the partygoers is heard telling Rodriguez on the home video.
Seconds later the partygoer warns, "When I go in that house and I come back, don't think I won't be equal to you, baby."
Rodriguez, who told police he suspected the men were drunk, tells the 911 operator that he's scared and will defend himself, if needed.
"I don't want to do this, and it all started over them playing their music real loud … it's about to get out of hand, Sir. Please help me. "
Seconds later, he says, "I'm standing my ground here, now these people are going to try and kill me."
The video is dark when Danaher and two other men apparently lunged toward him, laughing loudly. Rodriguez fired his gun, killing Danaher and injuring two others.
In lobbying jurors for a lenient sentence, defense attorney Bill Stradley blamed the tragedy on his client's misunderstanding of the state's "stand your ground" law. Something he predicts will happen with other Texas gun owners in the future.
"And they will find themselves, like Raul Rodriguez, charged with murder," said Stradley, according to the Houston Chronicle.
"Raul believed he had a right to be where he was. But he had two seconds to make that call, to pull that trigger."
This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
George Zimmerman talked to Sanford police a half-dozen times, going over what happened the night he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. In the retelling, parts of his story changed. His account also does not line up with other evidence.
Here are some of the most prominent inconsistencies:
Where the confrontation happened
In his first recorded interview with police the night of the Feb. 26 shooting, Zimmerman said Trayvon popped out at him from "the bushes."
By the time he re-enacted the shooting less than 24 hours later, however, Zimmerman was much more precise, and the spot he pointed out had no bushes nearby.
As he walked police through what happened where, he said Trayvon approached him from his left rear and at a spot near the intersection of two sidewalks.
What Trayvon said
In that first taped interview with Sanford police Investigator Doris Singleton, Zimmerman said that when he and Trayvon came face to face on that sidewalk, Trayvon said, "What the [expletive][is] your problem, homey?"
During the next 24 hours, Zimmerman's version of what Trayvon said would change slightly, becoming less offensive with each telling.
In another interview later that night, he told Investigator Chris Serino that Trayvon said, "You got a problem?"
During the re-enactment the next afternoon, he told police that Trayvon yelled, "Yo, you got a problem?"
Also, a 16-year-old Miami girl told prosecutors she heard something different. She said she was on the phone with Trayvon at the time and heard him say, "What are you following me for?"
Dispatcher asked him to find Trayvon
After first spotting Trayvon and dialing a nonemergency police number, Zimmerman parked his truck while he talked with the dispatcher, asking that an officer come to the scene.
While still on the line, he drove a short distance down the street before parking again.
Why did he move his truck?
During the re-enactment the day after the shooting, Zimmerman told detectives it was because he had lost sight of the 17-year-old, and the dispatcher asked him to find him.
A review of Zimmerman's recorded call with the dispatcher, though, shows there was no such request.
Did he follow Trayvon?
In his call to police before the shooting, Zimmerman can be heard huffing and puffing as if he had been running or walking fast.
"Are you following him?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yeah," Zimmerman answered.
"OK, we don't need you to do that," the dispatcher said.
"OK," Zimmerman said.
But after the shooting, he offered a different reason for getting out of his truck. Serino pressed him for an explanation three days later.
I was "just going in the same direction he was," Zimmerman said. He had exited his truck, he said, to get a street address for authorities.
"Did you pursue the kid? Did you want to catch him?" Serino asked.
"No," said Zimmerman.
Serino challenged him further: "How do you not know the three streets in your neighborhood [where] you've been living for three years?"
Zimmerman replied that he had a bad memory and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Other inconsistencies
Investigators also pointed out to Zimmerman in a Feb. 29 interrogation several other discrepancies, but he did not clear them up:
•He had said that during their struggle, Trayvon covered Zimmerman's nose and mouth with his hands, but in a recorded 911 call from a neighbor in which someone can be heard screaming for help, none of the cries sound muffled.
•Zimmerman had injuries but not ones that matched the severity of the attack he described, according to Serino. If Trayvon had been banging Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer should have had skull fractures, not just cuts, Serino said.
•There were no defensive wounds on Zimmerman's hands and just one small scrape on a finger of Trayvon's left hand, Serino said — little evidence of life-and-death struggle. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... her-police
George Zimmerman talked to Sanford police a half-dozen times, going over what happened the night he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. In the retelling, parts of his story changed. His account also does not line up with other evidence.
Here are some of the most prominent inconsistencies:
Where the confrontation happened
In his first recorded interview with police the night of the Feb. 26 shooting, Zimmerman said Trayvon popped out at him from "the bushes."
By the time he re-enacted the shooting less than 24 hours later, however, Zimmerman was much more precise, and the spot he pointed out had no bushes nearby.
As he walked police through what happened where, he said Trayvon approached him from his left rear and at a spot near the intersection of two sidewalks.
What Trayvon said
In that first taped interview with Sanford police Investigator Doris Singleton, Zimmerman said that when he and Trayvon came face to face on that sidewalk, Trayvon said, "What the [expletive][is] your problem, homey?"
During the next 24 hours, Zimmerman's version of what Trayvon said would change slightly, becoming less offensive with each telling.
In another interview later that night, he told Investigator Chris Serino that Trayvon said, "You got a problem?"
During the re-enactment the next afternoon, he told police that Trayvon yelled, "Yo, you got a problem?"
Also, a 16-year-old Miami girl told prosecutors she heard something different. She said she was on the phone with Trayvon at the time and heard him say, "What are you following me for?"
Dispatcher asked him to find Trayvon
After first spotting Trayvon and dialing a nonemergency police number, Zimmerman parked his truck while he talked with the dispatcher, asking that an officer come to the scene.
While still on the line, he drove a short distance down the street before parking again.
Why did he move his truck?
During the re-enactment the day after the shooting, Zimmerman told detectives it was because he had lost sight of the 17-year-old, and the dispatcher asked him to find him.
A review of Zimmerman's recorded call with the dispatcher, though, shows there was no such request.
Did he follow Trayvon?
In his call to police before the shooting, Zimmerman can be heard huffing and puffing as if he had been running or walking fast.
"Are you following him?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yeah," Zimmerman answered.
"OK, we don't need you to do that," the dispatcher said.
"OK," Zimmerman said.
But after the shooting, he offered a different reason for getting out of his truck. Serino pressed him for an explanation three days later.
I was "just going in the same direction he was," Zimmerman said. He had exited his truck, he said, to get a street address for authorities.
"Did you pursue the kid? Did you want to catch him?" Serino asked.
"No," said Zimmerman.
Serino challenged him further: "How do you not know the three streets in your neighborhood [where] you've been living for three years?"
Zimmerman replied that he had a bad memory and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Other inconsistencies
Investigators also pointed out to Zimmerman in a Feb. 29 interrogation several other discrepancies, but he did not clear them up:
•He had said that during their struggle, Trayvon covered Zimmerman's nose and mouth with his hands, but in a recorded 911 call from a neighbor in which someone can be heard screaming for help, none of the cries sound muffled.
•Zimmerman had injuries but not ones that matched the severity of the attack he described, according to Serino. If Trayvon had been banging Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer should have had skull fractures, not just cuts, Serino said.
•There were no defensive wounds on Zimmerman's hands and just one small scrape on a finger of Trayvon's left hand, Serino said — little evidence of life-and-death struggle. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... her-police
Can it be any more obvious that the guy was looking for a confrontation?
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
i would have set it at
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
well is this cash or bond? or cash only? Cash only would make it more difficult for him to raise.
The lieing about the second passport should have made this a nobrainer. Remand.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
well is this cash or bond? or cash only? Cash only would make it more difficult for him to raise.
The lieing about the second passport should have made this a nobrainer. Remand.
He needs to pay $100,000 (10%) to get out. He raised way more than that from his stupid website. All the racists came and gave him a handout.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
well is this cash or bond? or cash only? Cash only would make it more difficult for him to raise.
The lieing about the second passport should have made this a nobrainer. Remand.
He needs to pay $100,000 (10%) to get out. He raised way more than that from his stupid website. All the racists came and gave him a handout.
they are ok with donating to his defense fund, but it is a whole different ballgame when it comes to supporting medicaid...
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
well is this cash or bond? or cash only? Cash only would make it more difficult for him to raise.
The lieing about the second passport should have made this a nobrainer. Remand.
He needs to pay $100,000 (10%) to get out. He raised way more than that from his stupid website. All the racists came and gave him a handout.
$900,000 is one hell of a bond... He'll have a fun time paying that back.....
so you lie to the court about how much money you have for bail, get caught and all the judge does is up the bail? and require him to wear a tracking device? :fp:
well is this cash or bond? or cash only? Cash only would make it more difficult for him to raise.
The lieing about the second passport should have made this a nobrainer. Remand.
I just saw this about his passport too. What the fuck is wrong with theses people?
"Prosecutors also said the taped calls show the couple talking about the whereabouts of Zimmerman’s second passport."
Zimmerman and his wife...They discussed a second passport and used codes to hide how much money they were talking about on the phone...I assume the prison phone, because the authorities were listening in the whole time.
Now, they must've considered the possibility that their conversation was heard or tapes because they were deliberately being deceptive, but do they think the authorities are THAT stupid that they'd think they were talking about moving $8 or $10 around to different accounts, and not 80K and 100K. Brilliant plan Zimmreman. :fp:
Unreal that people think this asshole is facing a tough rap...complete bullshit.The things that go on in this world without any attention, and these assholes who donate want him (the guy who caused this)to be the victim.
And I doubt the kid said to him "you're going to die tonight" whata fairytale. I could see him getting in his shots cause PARANOIA bOY zIMMERMAN Chased him for ne reason. What a wannabe
the GUN made him feel he could provoke the encounter, Guns are for pussies
At first I was amazed that anyone was giving this schmuck their money. But many of the articles i've seen post the websites where you can donate. These are all over the media...so if a few hundred people give money, it adds up I suppose.
The sad thing is, I think he has a good chance of getting off, and then he can write a book and lie his little panties off on the Maury Povich show...If he gets off, he's going to get rich off the fact that he killed a person. Sad really.
The woman also told police in a telephone interview released in May that Zimmerman and his family are racist against blacks. In that interview, she refused to identify herself.
"Growing up he and his family always made statements that they did not like black people unless they act white," she told police.
This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
The woman also told police in a telephone interview released in May that Zimmerman and his family are racist against blacks. In that interview, she refused to identify herself.
"Growing up he and his family always made statements that they did not like black people unless they act white," she told police.
"But she said she never saw Zimmerman do anything specific that showed he was racist."
Comments
Raul Rodriguez, 47, faced a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison. He claimed he shot schoolteacher Kelly Danaher in self-defense under Texas' version of the "stand your ground" law.
But prosecutors argued Rodriguez provoked the incident by confronting Danaher, 36, and his friends with a handgun and demanding they quiet down at a late-night birthday party in May 2010.
The Houston case captured more attention in the wake of Trayvon Martin's death in Florida. There, George Zimmerman says he was being attacked and cited the state's "stand your ground" law after shooting the unarmed teen. But prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder.
Two dozen states reportedly now allow citizens to stand their ground even outside their home. The specifics vary by state, but generally justify a person not retreating and using deadly force when a threat is perceived.
As in Florida, Texas law includes public areas, "if a person has a right to be present at a location where force is used."
But veteran attorney Andy Drumheller told Yahoo News that the Houston jury appeared to draw a line with Rodriguez leaving his home and going down the street.
"The law is not designed to create this bubble that you can carry with you everywhere you go," said Drumheller, a former prosecutor now practicing criminal defense in Houston. "The jury's verdict is a cautionary statement on the limits of this defense."
The Rodriguez case is also unique because the former firefighter was recording video during much of the ordeal.
Rodriguez, who had been calling police about the loud party, dialed 911 again as both sides shouted at each other near Danaher's dark driveway.
"Tell you what, pal, you just pulled a gun on the wrong [expletive], OK?" one of the partygoers is heard telling Rodriguez on the home video.
Seconds later the partygoer warns, "When I go in that house and I come back, don't think I won't be equal to you, baby."
Rodriguez, who told police he suspected the men were drunk, tells the 911 operator that he's scared and will defend himself, if needed.
"I don't want to do this, and it all started over them playing their music real loud … it's about to get out of hand, Sir. Please help me. "
Seconds later, he says, "I'm standing my ground here, now these people are going to try and kill me."
The video is dark when Danaher and two other men apparently lunged toward him, laughing loudly. Rodriguez fired his gun, killing Danaher and injuring two others.
In lobbying jurors for a lenient sentence, defense attorney Bill Stradley blamed the tragedy on his client's misunderstanding of the state's "stand your ground" law. Something he predicts will happen with other Texas gun owners in the future.
"And they will find themselves, like Raul Rodriguez, charged with murder," said Stradley, according to the Houston Chronicle.
"Raul believed he had a right to be where he was. But he had two seconds to make that call, to pull that trigger."
Can it be any more obvious that the guy was looking for a confrontation?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... -on-bond/1
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Yeah, you have to be careful with that stuff.
The lieing about the second passport should have made this a nobrainer. Remand.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
$900,000 is one hell of a bond... He'll have a fun time paying that back.....
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/05/justice/f ... index.html
I just saw this about his passport too. What the fuck is wrong with theses people?
"Prosecutors also said the taped calls show the couple talking about the whereabouts of Zimmerman’s second passport."
Now, they must've considered the possibility that their conversation was heard or tapes because they were deliberately being deceptive, but do they think the authorities are THAT stupid that they'd think they were talking about moving $8 or $10 around to different accounts, and not 80K and 100K. Brilliant plan Zimmreman. :fp:
These two are a real piece of work.
And I doubt the kid said to him "you're going to die tonight" whata fairytale. I could see him getting in his shots cause PARANOIA bOY zIMMERMAN Chased him for ne reason. What a wannabe
the GUN made him feel he could provoke the encounter, Guns are for pussies
Fight like a man Biatch
Seriously, who is donating to this guy and why?
Bill Maher had a funny lil bit about George and Romney on the same ticket
Campaign slogan that they both can appeal to their base
"I think the black man is up to no good"
Sad, but Bill made it funny. And its totally true.
At first I was amazed that anyone was giving this schmuck their money. But many of the articles i've seen post the websites where you can donate. These are all over the media...so if a few hundred people give money, it adds up I suppose.
The sad thing is, I think he has a good chance of getting off, and then he can write a book and lie his little panties off on the Maury Povich show...If he gets off, he's going to get rich off the fact that he killed a person. Sad really.
Probably going to be worse for this guy.
The problem is, they cant put the Stand Your Ground Law on trial.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Anouther interesting story today....
betting our ol pal Mr. Zimmerman wished he would have just stayed home that fatefull night.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/sto ... 56253714/1
"Growing up he and his family always made statements that they did not like black people unless they act white," she told police.
"But she said she never saw Zimmerman do anything specific that showed he was racist."