George Zimmerman‘s return to jail is a possibility considering he did not disclose the fact that he had collected over $204,000 from donations to his defense fund.
STORY: Really?!? George Zimmerman’s Website Raised Over $200K?
Zimmerman’s tens of thousands of dollars will be the focus of discussion at a court hearing Friday in Florida, his attorney said.
According to CNN, the hearing was originally scheduled to discuss issues about the unsealing of Zimmerman’s criminal file, but the donations could overshadow that issue.
Trayvon Martin’s family attorney Ben Crump says Zimmerman should be back in jail because during a recent bond hearing he failed to tell a judge he had $204,000.
According to Crump:
“They tried to portray themselves as indigent that they did not have any money. We think the court should revoke his bond immediately, and he should be held accountable for misleading the court.”
Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last night that his client has been given about $204,000 from supporters.
The donations will be discussed at Friday’s hearing, O’Mara said.
O’Mara went on to say that Zimmerman told him of the donations Wednesday as they were trying to shut down his Internet presence to avoid concerns about possible impersonators and problems with his Twitter and Facebook accounts:
“He asked me what to do with his PayPal accounts, and I asked him what he was talking about. He said those were the accounts that had the money from the website he had. And there was about … $204,000 that had come in to date.”
When O’Mara was asked whether knowledge of the money might have made a difference to Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., who presided at Zimmerman’s bond hearing, O’Mara said, “It might have.”
“I’m certainly going to disclose it to the court tomorrow — coincidentally, we have a hearing.”
Crump said Zimmerman’s failure to reveal that he had the money shows that he is being dishonest.
“If his testimony at the bond hearing is any indication of what is to come, then the lying has already begun,” Crump said.
O’Mara said he was prepared to “deal with any fallout,” but predicted Lester would not feel misled:
“I told him what I knew at the time, which was exactly what I was aware of.”
The money has been placed in a secure account since O’Mara learned about it, he said, adding, “Nobody’s touching it until we figure out how to handle it.”
Though the account has been closed, O’Mara said he intends to open a legal defense fund for Zimmerman. “I’ve had dozens, hundreds actually, of people wanting to donate,” he said.
So will Zimmerman go back to jail? Legal experts say that some judges would send Zimmerman back to jail immediately – especially if he’s got money stashed away in an account.
For more on Trayvon Martin, please join our Justice For Trayvon Facebook page.
