Zimmerman to be charged in Trayvon Martin case

Updated 4:41 PM ET

(CBS/AP) CBS News has confirmed that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman will be charged in the February shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.

State Attorney Angela Corey is scheduled to hold a news conference at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the state attorney's office in Jacksonville, Florida related to the Martin investigation.

According to a senior law enforcement official, Corey is expected to announce that Zimmerman will face state charges. The number or nature of the charges was not immediately known.

The Martin family and their attorney, Ben Crump, renewed their pleas for calm as the hour approached.

"We don't need anybody taking these matters into their own hands," Crump said.

Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, tells The Associated Press that right now she and Martin's father "can't get past our son being murdered and no one being arrested." His father, Tracy Martin, says it will be very important to also get a conviction.

Their comments follow news that charges will be filed against Zimmerman.

Some of the charges that Zimmerman could possibly face range from involuntary manslaughter to voluntary manslaughter to second-degree murder, according to a legal expert. Both involuntary and voluntary manslaughter could carry up to 15 years in prison, while the second-degree murder charge could carry a sentence of life in prison.

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The law enforcement official said that authorities knew where Zimmerman was and were planning to arrest him soon rather than let him turn himself in. The official said he was not in Florida.

Zimmerman's shooting of the unarmed black teenager Feb. 26 brought demands from black leaders for his arrest and set off a furious nationwide debate over race and self-defense that reached all the way to the White House.

The 28-year-old Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, said the teenager attacked him. Martin's family argued Zimmerman was the aggressor.

On Tuesday, Zimmerman's lawyers announced they were withdrawing from the case because they hadn't heard from him since Sunday and didn't know where he was. They portrayed his mental state as fragile.

16 Photos

Fla. teen Trayvon Martin killed by neighborhood watch volunteer

"He is largely alone. You might even say he is emotionally crippled by virtue of the pressure of this case," said one of the lawyers, Hal Uhrig.

The case has drawn the interest of the highest levels of the Obama administration, with the Justice Department's civil rights division opening its own investigation.

Zimmerman's arrest was delayed partly because of Florida's "stand your ground" law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger. Florida is among 21 states with such a law.

Tensions have risen in recent days in Sanford. Someone shot up an unoccupied police car Tuesday as it sat outside the neighborhood where Martin was killed. And a demonstration by college students closed the town's police station Monday.

Six weeks ago, Martin was returning to the home of his father's fiancee from a convenience store when Zimmerman started following him. Zimmerman told police dispatchers he looked suspicious. At some point, the two got into a fight and Zimmerman used his gun.

Zimmerman told police Martin attacked him after he had given up chasing the teenager and was returning to his truck. He told detectives that Martin knocked him to the ground and began slamming his head on the sidewalk. Zimmerman's father said that Martin threatened to kill his son and that Zimmerman suffered a broken nose.

A video taken about 40 minutes after the shooting as Zimmerman arrived at the Sanford police station showed him walking unassisted without difficulty. There were no plainly visible bandages or blood on his clothing, but Zimmerman may have had a small wound on the back of his head.

The shooting ignited resentment toward the police department, and Police Chief Bill Lee temporarily stepped down to let passions cool.

Civil rights groups and others have held rallies around the country, saying the shooting was unjustified. Many of the protesters wore the same type of hooded sweatshirt that Martin had on that day, suggesting his appearance and race had something to do with his killing.

President Barack Obama injected himself into the debate, urging Americans to "do some soul-searching." "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said March 23.

The local prosecutor disqualified himself from the case, and Gov. Rick Scott appointed Corey, the prosecutor for Jacksonville, to take it over.

Trayvon Martin Shooting: A timeline of events
A profile of State Attorney Angela Corey

[rightright]

how can you be standing your ground and you on top of someone when you shoot them or better yet the cops hit the scene and the person cell phone go dead within the same min or so.How dare someone say it was there voice you hear on a 911 call.yelling for help.Cell phone bills don't lie and your voice is your voice! everyone dear mother know there child voice when they hear it.zimmerman dam near got away with murder but his dam time line is not matching the cops and cell phone time line.

[gato475]

why does cbs continue to use the 7 year old mug shot of zimmerman when we have a fresh brand new mugshot? could it be because he just looks a little more menacing in that 7 year old photo? could it be that cbs, like nbc and abc, are not really unbiased news organizations anymore?

[occupy_cbs]

xBARx: "Justice? This isn't Justice."




Seems that what evidence has been released and made public so far, it was definitely georgie zimmerman that was the clear aggressor in this case, and then even made some very poor behavior decisions.

The lead homicide investigator did not believe zimmerman's story on the night of the murder and wanted to arrest him then, but politics seemed to have gotten in the way.

The special prosecutor appointed by the governor surely has more evidence and facts than sean hannity, so let the justice system work the way it is supposed to, and give the vigilante his day in court!

[xBARx]

Justice? This isn't Justice. When a person irregardless of race defends himself against an aggresor & who is backed by a law of the state that was implemented to protect the individual in just this type of situation, kills that aggresor then to bad, so sad...that's justice, this travesty isn't. Zimmerman acted in self defence irregardless of what his initial interaction with the deceased was. The deceased was the author of his own demise by going after & assaulting the 'victim' here and unfortunately now becuse of liberal and black outcries & biased media interference, an innocent man is facing prosecution from those he believed had enacted legislation to protect him. This isn't American Justice, it's American Injustice.

[xBARx]

what?...does the truth 'hurt'? huh, does it? lol I love the way you brand people as 'racist' just because they offer a 'tongue in cheek' jibe - it's a perspective view by many...get over the belief it's impartial and non racial because it is...plain and simple, you know, like you...

[xBARx]

lol lol lol sounds like the 'pot' calling the 'kettle' black...eh boy...if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen and let the 'chefs' do the cooking...you 'burn' everything by your ignorance...now boy...have a nice day, ya hear...

[xBARx]

a 'Zeitung$$' by any other name is still a 'Zeitung$$...you can cure ignorance thru education, but there just simply is no cure for STUPID...better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove ALL doubt...eh.

[Kathys_Pasa_MD]

THANK YOU irishmoon3....I thought I was the only one that heard the 911 call when the 911 dispatcher told Zimmerman that they don't need him to follow the guy....Zimmerman said ok....The bias radio stations and news networks are not letting the public hear that. So...I say before anyone says the bs that Zimmerman was stalking Martin....listen to the 911 call in it's entirely....OK??? got it STUPID??
Thanks again irishmoon3

[bokehbrian]

While I am glad Gorge was finally arrested (if you kill someone you should always at least be arrested). And I am glad those involved fell that some modicum of justice has been done, it bothers me how short us Liberals memories are.

And how liberals don't seem to understand that we are partly to blame for Geroge Zimmerman having that gun on his hip at all in the first place.

While the right stays motivated and fights as long as it takes for what they believe. S liberals only seem to care when something big happens and have less motivation and dedication to liberty and democracy then a 5yr old ADD kid.

In 2008 we all went home patting ourselves on the back about how we did a great job electing Obama, then we went home and expected him and Pelosi to do all the work and fix all the problems while we sat on our butts and watched TV.

Meanwhile the right got organized and motivated, swept into power in 2010 while we were sound asleep at the wheel and then we act surprised when some crazy law allowed Zimmerman to do what he did.

Liberals stayed home and allowed right wing extremist to take over the states and pass these crazy laws and we are as much to blame for George having a gun then the right wing nuts who passed the law....because we didn't fight them.


http://thetop10.squarespace.com/the-politics-of-it-all/2012/4/12/liberals-helped-put-that-gun-in-george-zimmermans-hand.html

[Renovimus1]

George Zimmerman now has a police record. He will never be able to walk away from what he did to this young man regardless to whether he is found guilty or not. He's not suffering from PTSD he's suffering from a clear case of Karma is a *****.

The "perp-walk" that he had planned for young men like Trayvon, he had to walk, head covered and all. The police record that he found so typical of Black men is now his and spending time behind bars such a prevalent move in today's society for minority men is now George's. Geezh!! Karma and then he will get to visit Deviland.

What a life he ended up with.