George Zimmerman walked out of a Florida jail a free man on Friday afternoon after coming up with $100,000 for his bail.
A Seminole County sheriff’s spokeswoman said the man charged with second degree murder in the killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin left the jail at 2:49 p.m. ET wearing an electronic monitor that will track his every move.
A judge on Thursday ordered Zimmerman released on a $1 million bond. That meant Zimmerman would need to pay a professional bail bond company $100,000 (10 percent) to secure his freedom. Documents released by the sheriff’s office showed that he made the payment to a Sanford, Fla., company called Magic Bail Bonds.
Zimmerman, 28, has pleaded not guilty and claimed he acted in self defense on Feb. 26 when he shot the teen inside a gated community.
This was the second time this year Zimmerman was released on bail. His previous bond was revoked last month after the judge determined Zimmerman and his wife conspired to hide about $200,000 from authorities to get a reduced bail amount the last time.
Read Zimmerman’s bond document, showing he paid $100,000
Nick R. Martin
Nick Martin is an associate editor at TPM in New York City. He came to the site in 2011 as a reporter for TPMMuckraker. Previously, he worked in Arizona, first as a staff reporter for a local newspaper and later as a freelance journalist. He also ran the news blog Heat City. Contact him: nick [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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