The man acquitted of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin has been charged with assault and battery following his arrest at the home where he lived with his girlfriend in Florida.
Chief Deputy Dennis Lemma announced the charges Monday during a press conference in Sanford hours after Zimmerman’s arrest in nearby Apopka, about 15 miles northwest of Orlando.
Lemma says no one was hurt, and no one else was at the home when deputies arrived.
The 30-year-old former neighborhood watch volunteer has had several brushes with the law since he was acquitted earlier this year of all charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman and his estranged wife were involved in a domestic dispute in September. Police said no charges were filed against either of them because of a lack of evidence.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
The man acquitted of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin was arrested Monday after deputies responded to a disturbance call at a house in Florida, authorities said.
Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was taken to the jail for booking, according to a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office statement. Authorities provided few other details, and it was not immediately known what charge he faced. Messages for comment left by The Associated Press with the sheriff’s office were not immediately returned.
“Just when you thought you heard the last of George Zimmerman,” said neighbor Catherine Cantrell. She said she had twice seen a man who looked like Zimmerman get out of a truck that’s been in the driveway for nearly a month. The truck parked there Monday appeared to be the same one that reporters have seen Zimmerman drive previously.
“I’m in absolute shock. He was never outside. It’s not like he was out flaunting around,” she said.
Cantrell said the woman who lived in the home was very sweet and quiet.
Sarah Tyler, 26, also lives across the street from the tan stucco house on a cul-de-sac street of single family homes in Apopka, about 15 miles northwest of Orlando.
“It’s kind of frightening,” she said, adding that she only saw a woman came out of the house.
Zimmerman, 30, was acquitted in July of all charges in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The death of the black teenager, who was unarmed, touched off a nationwide debate about race and self-defense. Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has said he shot the 17-year-old to defend himself during a fight in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.
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