SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge agreed to let former neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman serve probation for a year after his attorney entered a no contest plea Tuesday to resolve a misdemeanor charge of stalking a private investigator associated with a documentary on the black teenager Zimmerman killed.
Seminole County Judge Mark Herr admonished Zimmerman to understand that "words matter." Under a no contest plea, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt, and a conviction is withheld if the conditions of the plea are met. Zimmerman wasn’t at the courthouse during the hearing.
“Please counsel him,” the judge told his attorney, Zahra Umansky. “Words do matter.”
The private investigator, Dennis Warren, said after the hearing that Zimmerman didn’t get the sentence he deserved but believed “we got the best we could.” He said he had hoped the case would have been handled as a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
The private investigator said he didn’t think Zimmerman could get through a year without violating his probation.
“He can’t stay away from trouble. He’s toxic,” Warren said.
Zimmerman was accused of sending threatening messages to Warren. The private investigator was hired by a documentary filmmaker who was working on a series on Trayvon Martin, the black teen who was fatally shot by Zimmerman in 2012. Zimmerman, who identifies as Hispanic, was acquitted of all charges in the case, which raised questions about race and Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law. That law allows people to use force without retreating if they feel threatened. Critics say the law allows black men to be victimized by gun violence
The documentary was produced by rapper Jay-Z.
