histrionics stephenie: Judge: Zimmerman can't remove GPS monitor

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Judge: Zimmerman can't remove GPS monitor

A Florida judge struck down George Zimmerman's plea to be removed from GPS monitoring while he remains free on bond awaiting trial in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

By NBC News staff and wire services

A Florida judge denied a motion Tuesday to allow George Zimmerman to remove his GPS monitoring device and allow him to travel or live outside Seminole County, Fla.

Zimmerman, 29, has been confined to Seminole County under a $1 million bond since July, when a judge concluded that Zimmerman provided false information about his assets and was a flight risk.

The defense said that due to the high-profile nature of his case, Zimmerman has been forced to live in hiding. If he were allowed to move, he could possibly live more openly, his attorney argued.

?He shouldn?t have to be in hiding,? attorney Mark O?Mara said.

O'Mara argued that the restrictions on Zimmerman made it difficult for him to meet with his defense team, expert witnesses and investigators.

Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda opposed the motion, suggesting that Zimmerman had voluntarily brought himself to the media?s attention. He added, sarcastically, that the defendant had come to court to ?sign autographs.?

The next hearing has not been definitively scheduled, but it could be between early January and March.

A former neighborhood watch volunteer, Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

He has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense under Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Zimmerman, who is of Latino descent, is charged with shooting and killing Martin, 17, who was African-American, on Feb. 26 in Sanford. He faces trial June 10. The case became a rallying point for activists protesting what they said was the targeting of an unarmed black youth because of his race.