Mere Oversight?
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 9:52AM
Several days ago, George Zimmerman’s attorney told the media that his client had nothing to do with any Websites bearing his name. That turned out to be untrue, but at the time, Mark O’Mara didn’t know that. He must have found out soon afterward because one site in particular, TheRealGeorgeZimmerman, did, in fact, belong to George. It was just taken down, but not before Ol’ Georgie Boy amassed a small fortune of $204,000. Oh my. At last week’s bond hearing, O’Mara declared him indigent. I understand that, to someone like Donald Trump, $204,000 is not much money, but to you, me and most people, including George, that’s a nice chunk of change. Granted, this is going to be an expensive run, but still…
My problem is two-fold. Did George keep the Website quiet by not disclosing its ownership until it became a bone of contention? In other words, was he deceitful about the site the moment O’Mara came on board? While that’s an issue, there’s something else that concerns me more; one that may shed light on George Zimmerman’s honesty. On CNN last night, O’Mara said he had no idea about the money at the time of the bond hearing, when he declared his client indigent. While it’s true that we, the public, have no idea how much money was in George’s PayPal account at that precise moment, it’s clear that O’Mara had no idea the account existed, let alone how much money was in it.
If George was harboring information from his attorney, how much can we believe? In my opinion, he’s already changed his story about the fatal incident on February 26. Now this misrepresentation. He sat in court, sitting on a nest egg, while his attorney argued his indigence. I humbly ask you, can we trust anything that George says? Did George even know he had that money while he sat in court?
Trayvon’s parents’ attorney, Benjamin Crump, wants the bond revoked. I don’t think it will be. What do you think?
Dave Knechel | in Benjamin Crump, Dave Knechel, David B. Knechel, David Knechel, George Zimmerman, Judge Kenneth R. Lester, Jr., Marinade Dave, Marinade Dave Knechel, Mark O'Mara, Seminole County, Seminole County Courthouse, Slimm v. Zimm, Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin, Zimm v. Slimm, marinadedave | Share Article | 1 Reference 
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Reader Comments (161)
Thanks Snoopy.
I hear what you are talking about - and yes, it does sound like he is messing with something metal - tamping it, or something of that nature. It makes me curious of whether the State (or FBI in particular) has listened to this and been able to identify what the sound is. I would assume they have the technology to figure that out. Wow, that could be very bad for GZ if they have been able to definitively recognize this as him readying his gun. I would think O'Mara would be pressuring him to make a plea deal.
From what I am learning, people are being very generous with their donations to the second fund that O'Mara set up for Zimmerman. Zimmerman will not have to file for indigency so it will save tax payers dollars.
Is O'Mara being smart? Yes, say criminal-defense lawyers.
Will asking for money hurt Zimmerman or his case? Maybe, if it becomes a distraction, lawyers say. But they also say O'Mara's intent is honorable — to raise money so he can mount a stronger defense.
"Legal-defense funds can be incredibly valuable if utilized correctly," said Benedict Kuehne, a prominent Miami lawyer who used one to help pay legal costs when he was indicted on federal money-laundering charges in 2005, a case the government ultimately dropped.
Kuehne is not a poor man, but the government often has far more money and resources than even upper-income defendants, he said, and legal-defense funds help level the field.
O'Mara told the Orlando Sentinel that it would never have occurred to him to set up a fund for Zimmerman, had the Neighborhood Watch volunteer not already collected a pool of money.
"There aren't many legal defense funds out there for a criminal [defendant]," O'Mara said.
O'Mara told CNN last week that he estimates Zimmerman's defense will cost $500,000 to $1 million. He said he earlier had agreed to handle the case for free, but now that there's money, he expects to be paid.
His hourly rate is $400, he said, and he estimated this case would take 1,000 hours.
Read it all here...
George Zimmerman launches new legal-defense fund
Well folks, I just ran across something that I did not pick up on back when watching the Bond hearing live. After watching the hearing live, I had been referring to the written transcript of the hearing provided by CNN. The problem with that is, when CNN would go to commercial break, we would lose that portion of the hearing. As you will recall, testimony during this hearing revealed that GZ gave LE 4 or 5 separate statements of what occurred that evening. In addition, according to GZ's father and brother, GZ did an actual reenactment of what occurred with LE a day or so afterwards. According to the prosecution's lead investigator, Dale Gilbreath, at the hearing testified that GZ's statements were inconsistent with their investigation. Today, I was watching the video of the bond hearing for the first time and something caught my ear. During the examination of Gilbreath, prosecutor De La Rionda let out a little bit of evidence that made my hair stand on end:
De La Rionda: Mr. Zimmerman never claimed that he chased in terms of ran after Mr. Martin, is that correct?
Gilbreath: No.
De La Rionda: …But you still have, is it not true, a witness who describes someone chasing another person from the area, in other words, from near where Mr. Martin lived to the area where the murder happened?
Gilbreath: Yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw0Shw075mo
Oh what a wicked web we weave …. If you look at the map that Dave has posted, you will see that in order to be chasing Trayvon away from his destination - his dad's gf's townhome - GZ had to run around the front side of the townhomes in order to circle back and cut Trayvon off and then chase after him. This completely meshes with Trayvon's girlfriend's statement that Trayvon had told her that he thought he had lost him, only to have GZ suddenly appear and confront him.
This explains why Trayvon went on the defensive attack mode. He had an unknown freak stalking and chasing him and basically blocking him from being able to seek the safety of his home. It totally explains the 2nd degree murder charge. How can you claim SYG self-defense when you are employing such tactical maneuvers? No wonder O'Mara isn't bringing his SYG motion quiet so fast as some expected. And I now, more than ever, believe that GZ has been molding his story to try and fit a SYG scenario when it truly wasn't. He was the hunter, and Trayvon was the hunted.
If you will also listen to the testimony of Gilbreath - you will hear De La Rionda discuss how GZ described having his head bashed into the concrete and how Trayvon was beating him [paraphrasing] - but recall, that the funeral director told the media that Trayvon had no signs of injury to his hands. If this is true - this is what LE would call a discrepancy in GZ's testimony.
I believe, IMO, that once the discovery comes out we will learn that GZ did have his gun drawn when he chased Trayvon down. That in his chase of Trayvon, GZ fell hitting his head, at which point Trayvon pounced on him trying to take the gun away. He never pounded GZ's head or beat him. It would makes complete sense how GZ happened to have the gun in hand when Trayvon was supposedly sitting astride him (presumably covering his waistband).
I also want to add this. While the prosecution has not officially turned over the discovery to the defense, you best believe that De La Rionda and O'Mara have had discussions via telephone or in person and O'Mara knows exactly what evidence the prosecution has to support its case.
Caveat: These are my personal opinions based upon my own interpretation of the facts and evidence that we have to date. I am sharing my conclusions concerning speculative topics. Under no circumstances should you interpret my comments as challenging your own opinions and/or conclusions.
That's the first I've heard about a witness to a chase. It's very interesting, Cherokee. Has anyone else heard about this witness? Did he'she describe the people involved?
I also read for the first time in comments here that there had been complaints about Zimmerman's handling of the NW responsibilities. I can't remember who posted this information, and can't bear the thought of searching through pages of comments.
Thanks to all of you for poring over the available information to discover these nuggets.
Cherokee~~I just watched the bond hearing for the first time at the link you posted. I will see if I can make it clickable here in case others may have missed it.
Video-Bond Hearing
Molly K~~it is my understanding that the witness who observed a chase decribed two individuals only as dark figures. I don't believe they could positively identify who was who. I do not know where this witness was at the time. They may have been in their yard or looking out a window. Since it was raining that night, I would assume it was the latter.
Snoopy -Thanks for providing the "clickable" link. What was said at the Bond hearing is the only official word I have heard about a witness "seeing someone chasing another person from near where Mr. Martin lived to the area where the murder happened". It is not clear whether the prosecutor is being vague about the witness's testimony or if the witness's testimony was actually that vague. I wouldn't brush it off casually though since I don't think the prosecutor would bring it up if it weren't significant enough to rely upon - but who knows - If they have this witness, they may have another who saw GZ running along the front side of the townhomes moments before the other witness saw the chase. Where did you get your information regarding "dark figures"? Because, like I said, this is the first I had heard of this officially and would love to read more if it is out there. But the biggest factor to me was that the chase was leading away from Trayvon's destination. Not good for Zimmerman IMO. I don't see O'Mara bringing a SYG motion. LOL
I found the questioning by De La Rionda and the testimony of Gilbreath to be much more telling than I had originally thought when watching it live. They were trying very hard not to give any information out to the public while at the same time informing the Judge of what he needed to know to determine bond. For instance, the prosecutors obviously have some form of evidence to dispute that (1) GZ's injuries were caused by Trayvon; or (2) that Trayvon beat on GZ; or (3) that Trayvon put one hand over GZ's mouth and the other over GZ's nose; or (4) that Trayvon attempted to take the gun. Maybe this is because there were no traces of touch dna? And, possibly there was GZ's blood evidence somewhere else other than where the murder occurred?
Yep, I am ready for the media to start filing motions and get the discovery released.
Caveat: These are my personal opinions based upon my own interpretation of the facts and evidence that we have to date. I am sharing my conclusions concerning speculative topics. Under no circumstances should you interpret my comments as challenging your own opinions and/or conclusions.
Cherokee ~~I found something of interest and put up a new post on my blog. It is quite interesting regarding the Stand Your Ground Law. If you choose to read it, I would prefer that you leave comments here on Dave's blog. It is almost humorous but the young man is facing second degree murder charges just like Zimmerman... BTW... Dave has me listed in his blogroll, top left of this page.
Self-defense or defiance
My first thoughts are, the kid was a career criminal and is going to end up in prison sooner or later. Arrested 22 times since age 11? Where are these kids' parents? Breaks my heart. But I agree with the ruling, and I do believe that it is being wrongly applied by LE and prosecutors...but I think it is because of poor drafting. I really hope that this law is amended. When you kill someone, especially using a gun, I firmly believe that the only way you should be able to walk away is if that is a decision made by a jury or judge not LE or some prosecutor doing a back room deal. And don't misundertand me, I have a lot of respect for LE and prosecutors, and the majority are straight as an arrow, but there are those few. I simply don't condone family, friend or political favors in the justice system. But hey, that's JMHO.
Yes, I've been to your blog before - I keep waiting for you to add more recipes. By the way, did you find the link where you read about "dark figures"? I really am interested.
Thanks for sharing Snoopy.
Caveat: These are my personal opinions based upon my own interpretation of the facts and evidence that we have to date. I am sharing my conclusions concerning speculative topics. Under no circumstances should you interpret my comments as challenging your own opinions and/or conclusions.
Cherokee~~re the dark figures... I used that term but this how the eyewitness seemed to describe who they saw chasing one another... I picked that up when I was watching the bond hearing at the link you provided.
BTW, my blog is very quiet these days as most of them are... I just keep it going on cruise control for a few that stop in. lol