No one could have predicted:
George Zimmerman was taken into custody Monday after an apparent domestic altercation with his wife and her father at a home in Lake Mary, Florida, police said.
“As of right now, (George Zimmerman) has been placed in investigative detention,” Lake Mary police spokesman Zach Hudson said.
The incident comes two months after Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was found not guilty of murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.
Hudson said a gun was found in the Lake Mary home, but he added that it was not a part of the altercation.
Shellie Zimmerman, who filed for divorce last week, was the one to call 911, Hudson said.
I’m just glad no one was wearing a hoodie or this could have ended badly.
Tom Levenson
Great minds think alike. So do we….;)
Frankensteinbeck
Sorry, John. Tom beat you to it. Prolly oughta delete this thread.
raven
Not your steppin stone. . .
eric
Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice, bang!
JPL
Although Tom has nicer pictures, I will use this post to update the tense situation in Florida. George was being detained and just a few minutes ago, his attorney showed up.
Now a car is coming or going.. http://www.clickorlando.com/news/watch-live-george-zimmerman-taken-into-custody-sky-6-over-scene/-/1637132/21851750/-/fhxdp/-/index.html
AxelFoley
Lot of people talkin’ about Zimmerman’s gonna kill someone again, but I’m tellin’ ya’ll he’s gonna run up on the wrong person soon and then he’s gonna know what it feels like to be on the other end.
eemom
Get thee behind me, Obot! Innocent until proven guilty.
/guess who
imonlylurking
Come on, people, let’s not be hasty. She might have had Skittles. Or iced tea. Or both!
bemused
I’m only surprised it took this long for the rightwing’s hero to go off the deep end again.
Rosalita
wonder what the lawyer will come up with this time — she made him feel threatened in her own home?
JPL
Too Many Jens was kind enough to provide the link to clickorlando that I added to my comment above.
Mr Stagger Lee
And no doubt some Republicans were laughing at Joe Scarborough when he warned them to stay away from this creep. Watch the NRA deny this guy even exists. Also the racists will now take back his honorary White Guy card.
Rosalita
Hee: billmon @billmon
Fox News dilemma: Attack Obama for not starting war RW opposed? Or demonize George Zimmerman’s wife? Only so many broadcast hours in a day.
bemused
@Rosalita:
I wonder what wingnut world will come up with this time. They have to rally around their boy, don’t they?
JPL
@Mr Stagger Lee: I’m still waiting for Wayne LaPierre to justify blind people carrying concealed weapons.
Gin & Tonic
@bemused: Easy. Bitch had it coming.
Come on, that’s a no-brainer. She filed for divorce and bad-mouthed him in an interview. She’s lucky she’s stilll alive tonight.
Trollhattan
@AxelFoley: .
One can hope. I’d be fine with him shooting his pecker off, whilst “cleanin'” his other pecker.
Tom Levenson
@Frankensteinbeck: Nah. More the merrier.
Penus
@imonlylurking: BUT IT WAS WATERMELON SODA! DON’T TRUST THE NARRATIVE!
Punchy
The Ole’ Lady has a book to sell, and needed one more chapter.
flukebucket
Better call Saul!
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
No doubt she attacked him and he feared for his life. Thank God for the patriot Zimmerman.
Bob
@Tom Levenson: I wonder if Cole will offer some lane-ass excuse. Like Rosie was snoring?
ranchandsyrup
Listened to the audio of the 911 call. Zimmy had his bodyguard there with him. LOLz.
Also: TBogg @tbogg 25s
Under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, George Zimmerman’s father-in-law could have shot him. #karmafail
NotMax
At least she had the presence of mind to call 911 and not speed-dial the neighborhood watch.
J.
In other news… “Batman, Captain America Rescue Cat From Burning W. Va. Home.” (When I saw the headline, I was so hoping Batman was John Cole. I was close.)
Trollhattan
O/T I don’t know how the hell I missed this during the ’12 campaign. Ry Cooder, “Mutt Romney Blues”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW_hE1jZWgY
About poor Seamus, of course.
MattF
Trainwreck. Pathetic and… and too bad about the dead kid.
JPL
It appears that Zimmerman punched his father-in-law in the nose and landscapers might have seen some type of altercation. When the police arrived, they had their guns drawn. He smashed his wife’s ipods and took out a pocket knife. hmmm Not sure if skittles were involved.
kindness
I am thankful Zimmerman’s wife & her family weren’t family funning by reheasing old movies, like maybe some Al Jolson movies when Zimmerman showed up. He’d have been forced to shoot them all claiming he was sure one of them had a bag of Skittles and there was Iced Tea on the table.
bemused
@Gin & Tonic:
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader:
@Punchy:
Nothing new with wingnuts, they are so predictable.
JPL
Wasn’t Mark O’Mara suppose to be on CNN today?
Amir Khalid
Hmm. Can we look forward now to a close analysis in the media of Shellie Zimmerman’s degree of whiteness, like George got in the run-up to the trial? And will a certain someone turn up in these threads to indignantly allege racism against no one in particular?
Thlayli
No scary young black male involved? Yeah, good luck getting out of this one.
Marmot
@JPL: Supposed! With the “d”! Supposed!
dollared
Thank FSM she had the cool judgment and good sense not to whip out her sidewalk and start beating him with it.
Mike G
Cue the first wingnut to blame this on the stress of the “death threats” Zimmerman has “received” from the melanin-enhanced community.
JPL
It’s interesting that the local news is now wondering whether or not his past can be used against him. He assaulted a police officer, accused of domestic violence and then killed a young man. During the trial all I can remember hearing about was whether or not Treyvon was on pot.
Amir Khalid
@J.:
It’s always good to hear about Marvel and DC heroes working together.
MomSense
Syria has accepted the deal to hand over all of their chem weapons to international authorities. Still much to be worked out but this could be a great development.
MikeJ
Shouldn’t we wait for the UN report before we decide anything?
JPL
@Marmot: Well, wasn’t he supposed to be on CNN?
thanks
schrodinger's cat
@MikeJ: We better call Putin too.
Frankensteinbeck
@MomSense:
I’ll trust it when it’s done, but that would be wonderful. I’ll be happy to entertain all speculations about what was deliberate and what Obama intended and what would have happened, if this issue is solved peacefully.
lamh36
Just got home and hearing the Zimmerman news.
My granny used to say that “God don’t like ugly”…welp, IDK about all that, but Karma…she is a bitch!!!
Citizen_X
RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNER!
Napoleon
Tweet of the day!
https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/377153965172854784
(H/T Kilgore)
bemused
My big question is who is footing the bills for Zimmerman’s bodyguard, house rental and general living expenses. Some gun nut group would be my guess.
Oh and what was the bodyguard doing while all this was going on?
Drexciya
Am I the only one that feels a little queasy about the likelihood that Zimmerman will get more time for threatening white people than he got for killing a black kid?
RareSanity
@bemused:
Nope.
They will drop him quicker than Marco Rubio having the audacity to have a dry mouth while talking on TV.
Mary G
@Drexciya: This. Higgs Boson’s Mate commented that Z would get more time for locking a dog in the car with the windows rolled up than he got for shooting Trayvon Martin.
Betty Cracker
911 call audio. Zimmerman’s wife claims he punched her father, pulled a knife and keeps going for the gun and threatening “everyone.”
Shakezula
I would like to thank Mr. Zimmerman for helping me win the $50 bet I placed when he was acquitted – That he’d be in jail in 6 months or less.
@Mr Stagger Lee: Deny him? When he’s the victim of the Evil Mean Nasty Bitch Ex-Wife Brigade? That SOB won’t be able to move for Good Ol’ Boys wanting to suck his Glock.
Betty Cracker
@Drexciya: At least he’ll actually get arrested immediately for this incident (unlike when he shot an unarmed kid dead), but he probably won’t do any time. Can they at least take the dumb bastard’s gun away now? Probably won’t do that either.
Punchy
Fuckin christ, now the NPKA is going to be forced to back his actions.
Shakezula
@Drexciya: He never served time for shooting Martin, but your larger point stands.
browser
FYI, she’s already declined to press charges and he’s been released.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-george-zimmerman-in-custody-gun-20130909,0,4880482.story?Sdsdae
Rosalita
@Betty Cracker:
I heard from my mom who is watching the news, that they did take the gun away… though I’m sure his favorite gun maker will send him another.
gbear
@bemused: Really. Is the body guard so well paid that he just stands there instead of trying to get his client from doing something incredibly stupid (like punching the FIL)? If his wife presses charges, can the bodyguard be made to testify for the prosecution? He’s an eyewitness to everything that happened – is he paid enough to purger himself?
Drexciya
@Shakezula
That kind of is the point.
This situation only affirms that black life is cheap, and American society, American policy and America’s legal mechanisms respond accordingly.
Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937
I hope she didn’t fire shots into the ceiling to warn him away. You do serious jail time for that in FLA.
RareSanity
@browser:
I thought that Florida had a law that if police responded to a domestic dispute, it was up the DA as to whether charges are filed, not the participants.
Am I wrong, or is that no longer true?
The Dangerman
So much for Zimmerman addressing the 2016 RNC convention.
Punchy
@Betty Cracker: Those are her “claims”. Being that she’s a scorned, hysterical person with ladyparts, it’s clear that no one should take her side of the story. After all, he wouldn’t have been so angry had she been in the kitchen making him his ham sammich and tamale.
JPL
@browser: Under state law they can still charge him but will they..hmmm.
They cannot use his previous record against him since he was either found not guilty or did community service to have the record clean. As we know, he assaulted a police officer, beat up a former girlfriend and killed Treyvon.
His record is clean.
Anya
@imonlylurking: I have a suggestion for Mrs Zimmerman.
@Betty Cracker: If he’s charged with domestic violence wouldn’t they take the gun away? Even in Florida this is a no brainer.
Shakezula
@RareSanity: You’re correct, only the DA/SA can make this call.
browser
@RareSanity:
No idea. But it’s Florida and it’s Zimmerman, so anything resembling the ‘right thing to do’ is probably a long shot.
browser
@JPL:
And his dad is still a judge or magistrate with plenty of pull, isn’t he?
bemused
@gbear:
Yup, quite a bizarre stew.
Kay
Another unprovoked attack.
That’s four times this poor man has been attacked, five if you count the wife and father in law as two.
Ben Cisco
@Drexciya: No.
Roger Moore
@gbear:
No, he’s paid to back Zimmerman up if he picks a fight and starts to lose. And, BTW, it’s “perjure”, not “purger”.
Archon
@Drexciya:
Quesy@Shakezula: Blaming a violent black thug for his own demise is as American as apple pie. Blaming it on a scorned and angry wife is a little more complicated and socially unacceptable (a little).
AdamK
@Punchy: Mmm. Ham sammitch.
Somebody make me one pronto.
JPL
@browser: Before Drudge linked to the clickorlando site, the comments were from local people. Few supported the latest Zimmerman dispute. They seem to know he’s a hothead who will injure again. His father might be able to keep him out of jail but his rap sheet is catching up to him.
different-church-lady
C’mon people, use your heads: clearly it was due to the severe emotional pressure of the unfair trial and media attention.
Jeez… this ain’t rocket surgery.
geg6
@Kay:
Yeah, his life must be awful what with getting attacked every five minutes, unprovoked and all.
The good news is that I won a bet with my sister on him. A case of Chateau St. Michele Reisling muthafucka!
different-church-lady
@The Dangerman:
Are you freakin’ kidding? At the rate they’re going, he’ll be the nominee, and culminate his acceptance speech by shooting an empty chair.
different-church-lady
But seriously — Tom’s source says gun involved, Cole’s source says no gun. Ahh… the media.
browser
@different-church-lady:
The gun they found in the home wasn’t involved – the gun Zimmerman was packing, however, was. 911 call from the estranged missus. She says that he has his hand on his gun and keeps telling her to “come closer”:
http://www.clickorlando.com/blob/view/-/21852750/data/1/-/eryp8vz/-/911-call-audio.wav
Tonybrown74
@Drexciya:
Cheap would imply some semblance of value.
Worthless would be a better description. The cops tested the dead boy’s body for drugs. This AFTER they knew he was unarmed.
scav
Just for flavor, there’s a Texas Neighborhood Watcher to Watch as well (developing): Car Found, Dallas Sexual Assault Suspect at Large
He’s ‘sposed to be just telling people about the program, is actually out patrolling several times a week, but isn’t that the bootstraps we’re all supposed to be pulling up? Build you own notax police forces? Freedom Working! The reported DNA evidence complicates the epic narrative, oh well.
Kay
@geg6:
I knew he was going to say it.
It may be hopeless. He’s the victim of unprovoked attacks even when he has a bodyguard. The next time it happens, they should do some creative sentencing. Make him hire a bodyguard to travel with him at all times. The bodyguard could get out of the truck first and yell “stay back! no one attack him!”
the bodyguard could then double as a witness if some 17 year old attacks Zimmerman anyway, despite these safeguards.
Redshirt
@Bob: At this point, I doubt Cole even visits this blog – I bet he only goes to the admin page to post whatever thought pops in his head. And then away he goes….
Roger Moore
@scav:
He was apparently patrolling the neighborhood for vulnerable women.
Lavocat
This is precisely the sort of bullshit that could cause DOJ to take a serious look at this moron.
Can anyone say Accident Waiting To Happen?
mouse tolliver
If Dexter were real, Zimmerman would be on his table by now.
different-church-lady
@Kay:
Jan. 17, 2014, CNN Headline News: “ZIMMERMAN SHOOTS HIS PERSONAL BODYGUARD, CLAIMS SELF DEFENSE”
scav
@Roger Moore: yep, if things worked like NYCPD, we might need to start stopping and frisking all the volunteer cops just in case.
TAPX486
@Rosalita: That’s it. he is claiming she threatened him. (sigh)
ItAintEazy
So does this mean that George Zimmerman finally has a longer arrest record than Trayvon Martin?
Kay
@ItAintEazy:
What was Martin’s arrest record?
ItAintEazy
@Kay: None, despite all the stories you hear. But he was still a dangerous black thug who was armed with a sidewalk.
Kay
@ItAintEazy:
Thank God. I thought you were serious. This subject upsets me, obviously.
I was mad as hell that they leaked his high school discipline records. He got no protection at all.
Ahh says fywp
@Drexciya: Make me queasy once, don’t–don’t get q queasy again.
Unfortunately this is not enough to really put him away but one can always hope he’ll rack up assault charges in county jail or take a plea w probation and then violate it and land his punk ass in real trouble.
As soon as that punk ends up in Florida prison system it will be on. & hes a chester on top of everything else.
Ahh says fywp
.@JPL: and molested his female cousin
The Moar You Know
Well, in spite of all the butthurt howling from certain posters, it seems that the skin color of the person you point a gun at makes all the difference in Floriduh.
dp
This is very significant. I can’t believe no one has pointed it out, but if she is successful in getting a restraining order against him, guess what? Under federal law, he is NO LONGER ALLOWED TO POSSESS A FIREARM!
SiubhanDuinne
@browser:
I guess she was too preoccupied to look at that .pdf link Tom provided downstairs.
kc
That’s the thanks she gets for perjuring herself for him?
kc
@J.:
That is so cool.
kc
@Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937:
I think that’s only if you’re black.
Comrade Mary
Oops …
Omnes Omnibus
@Drexciya: No, you are not.
debbie
@mouse tolliver:
Definitely!
A. N. Onymous [aka Dex.]
Hummmm. Dexter, and Zimmer…..? what an interesting thought.
Justice done, and the waste dumped in little plastic bags. Hmmmm…
LesGS
She says, “I don’t know what he’s capable of”….?
She knows *exactly* what he’s capable of.
lou
@Kay: None. And the Miami-Dade school system should be socked with a FERPA violation and get fined millions of dollars for releasing Trayvon’s *disciplinary* record.
I’m a former reporter and have had run-ins with school types citing FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) for really bogus reasons. Here’s a true and clear violation and have the feds done anything about it? Nope.
As far as this most recent event with Zimmerman, wouldn’t punching his father-in-law in the nose lead to charges, whether the FIL wanted it or not?
Peanutcat
@Drexciya: Nope!