Judge: Zimmerman must return to jail

Judge: Zimmerman must return to jail

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  • Judge: Zimmerman must return to jail

  • Friday, June 1 2012 5:35 PM EDT2012-06-01 21:35:38 GMT
    George Zimmerman's attorney says he'll disclose more than $200,000 raised by a website created for his legal defense.
    George Zimmerman's attorney says he'll disclose more than $200,000 raised by a website created for his legal defense.
ORLANDO (NEWSCORE) -

A Florida judge on Friday granted prosecutors' request to revoke George Zimmerman's bond, saying his financial status was misrepresented during his April bail hearing.

The 28-year-old defendant in the Trayvon Martin shooting must turn himself in within 48 hours, Seminole Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester ordered.

Zimmerman will be held without bail until another hearing is held.

Florida prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda argued that Zimmerman's wife, Shelley Zimmerman, knew her husband had $135,000 available to him in donations collected via PayPal for a defense fund.

But during a bail hearing, she intentionally misled the court about the finances, prosecutors said.

"The defendant's wife lied to this court," de la Rionda said during Friday's hearing. "This court was led to believe that they didn't have a single penny."

Prosecutors also pointed out that Zimmerman was holding a second passport in addition to the one he turned over to the state.

George Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara said the financial misrepresentation was an innocent mistake, and not a "devious" attempt to hide money. He also noted Zimmerman's good behavior since he was released in April on $150,000 bail.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in April over Martin's death in a gated community in Sanford.

A volunteer neighborhood watchman, Zimmerman claims he was acting in self-defense. But a six-week delay in Zimmerman's arrest inspired protests nationwide, with many claiming the killing of Martin, an unarmed black teenager, was racially motivated.

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