George Zimmerman’s Brother: Civil Lawsuit ‘Might Not Be Very Flattering’ To Trayvon Martin’s Family

 

If Trayvon Martin’s family decides to file a wrongful-death suit against George Zimmerman, they could be opening a Pandora’s box, according to Zimmerman’s older brother.

“A myriad of things that were off-limits in a criminal trial would come into play in a civil case. Specifically, things that might not be very flattering to Trayvon or his family,” Robert Zimmerman Jr. said in an email to The Huffington Post.

George Zimmerman, a 29-year-old former neighborhood watch volunteer, was acquitted earlier this month of all criminal charges in the 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Prior to the start of Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial, the judge overseeing the case ruled that lawyers for Zimmerman could not mention Martin’s alleged history of fighting or pictures of drugs and guns found on his cell phone.

“Public opinion was swayed by a false presentation of this case from the beginning,” Zimmerman’s lawyer Mark O’Mara said at a press conference after the ruling. “The Martin family, through their handlers, presented a picture of who Trayvon was and who George was that is wholly inaccurate.”

After the verdict, the Martin family’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, told ABC’s “This Week” that his clients were considering a suit against Zimmerman.

“They are going to certainly look at [a lawsuit] as an option. They deeply want a sense of justice. They deeply don’t want their son’s death to be in vain,” he told ABC.

To win in a criminal trial, prosecutors need to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Plaintiffs in a civil case do not have that burden.

However, filing a case would be difficult because of Florida’s stand your ground law. The statute provides criminal and civil immunity to anyone who uses deadly force in a situation in which one has a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury.

A judge would have to determine whether the law applies in this case. If it does, Zimmerman would be released from liability and would also be able to collect attorney fees, court costs and related expenses.

While Zimmerman has not commented on the outcome of the trial or the possibility of another, his brother said he does not expect the Martin family will actually file suit.

“I don’t expect a wrongful death suit … There is the potential assertion of civil immunity before the case would even start — things that were off limits during the case might also come up then. Also, a criminal acquittal goes a long way to supporting a civil immunity claim,” Robert Zimmerman Jr. told HuffPost.                                source

 

Train Driver In Deadly Crash Suspected Of Negligent Homicide

 

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain — The injured driver of the Spanish train that derailed at high speed, killing 78 and injuring dozens more, was released from the hospital Saturday, but he was still being held in a police station as authorities increasingly focused on his culpability.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo was to appear before a judge by Sunday evening, a hotly awaited opportunity for him to give his explanation for Spain’s deadliest train crash in decades.

Garzon has been under the microscope, with the country’s railway agency saying it was his responsibility to brake before going into the high-risk curve where the train careered off the rails and smashed into a wall. It’s still not clear whether the brakes failed or were never used, and Garzon has remained mum so far.

“There is rational evidence to lead us to think that the driver could have eventual responsibility,” Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told reporters at the crash site near the Catholic pilgrimage town of Santiago De Compostela.

He said Garzon was now being held on suspicion of negligent homicide. Authorities had previously said he was detained on suspicion of recklessness.

Speaking later at the police station, the minister also said that if Garzon were to choose to give a statement to the police before testifying in front of a judge, his lawyer would be called.

So far the driver has opted to use his constitutional right to remain silent, “although he may change his mind on that,” Fernandez Diaz said.

The wreckage still remained near the site on Saturday, as passenger trains passed by. Black ribbons of mourning dotted the Santiago de Compostela and flags flew at half-staff. Makeshift shrines drew mourners to the city’s cathedral.

Someone placed flowers on a bridge above the railroad tracks, with a note reading, “We are all in solidarity with the city of Santiago.”

Garzon had been expected to give a preliminary statement to judicial police as early as Thursday, but that process was delayed, reportedly due to health reasons. Earlier Saturday, the justice department said Garzon’s first appearance before a judge had been postponed until Sunday.

A blood-soaked Garzon was photographed after the Wednesday crash being escorted away from the wreckage, at first by civilians who had hurried to the scene of the accident and then by police, but it is not clear just what his medical status is.

Unconfirmed media reports said that Garzon had injured ribs.

The train’s eight passenger carriages packed with 218 passengers blazed far over the speed limit into a curve and violently tipped over. Diesel fuel sent flames coursing through some cabins.

Investigators are examining recording devices from the train but have not officially said how fast it was going when it derailed.

An American passenger, Stephen Ward, said he was watching the train’s speed on a display screen in the carriage – and it indicated it was going 194 kph (121 mph), more than double the 80-kph speed limit.

The president of Adif, the Spanish rail agency, said that the driver should have started slowing the train 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) before the dangerous bend. He said signs clearly marked this point when the driver must begin to slow.

Normally, police take a first statement that is then examined by an investigating judge who must then take testimony within 72 hours of the arrest. That deadline is 7:40 p.m. Sunday.

Although that initial court hearing would be closed, it would give hints about the status of the investigation. The judge would decide whether to jail the driver as an official suspect, release him on bail, or release him without charges. If a judge finds sufficient evidence for a criminal trial, the suspect will be charged and a trial date set.

In an interview with The Associated Press after being released from the hospital, Ward was wearing bandages and a neck brace.

Santiago officials had been preparing for the religious feast of St. James of Compostela, Spain’s patron saint, but canceled it after the crash. Ward said he has sorry that the event had been marred.

“It’s horrible that so much death and tragedy occurred,” he said.                                                         source

 

Ryan Balletto, Patrick Pearmain Allegedly Kept 15-Year-Old Girl As Sex Slave On Marijuana Farm

Two men allegedly kept a 15-year-old sex slave in a toolbox and forced her to work on their Lake County, Calif. marijuana farm for days.

CBS News reports that the allegations, made against Ryan Balletto, 30, and Patrick Pearmain, 24, were revealed in a criminal complaint unsealed this week.

Cops said the girl, who is thought to be a runaway from the Los Angeles area, was kept in a 4-by 2-foot box for at least three days. She also helped the men harvest marijuana plants, authorities allege.

The Modesto Bee reports that cops found “equipment consistent with sexual bondage and sadomasochism” on the property as well.

“Some in our community believe that marijuana grow operations are run by compassionate caregivers interested only in supplying medicine to the sick,” U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said in a written statement obtained by the Bee. “Unfortunately, this case illustrates what we in law enforcement see – marijuana grow operations that include heavily armed, violent individuals, motivated by profit, carrying out abuses of vulnerable victims.”

Haag also said authorities think there could be more victims.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the home where the girl was allegedly held had been under federal investigation since 2011.

Authorities raided the property in April when Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives called Northern California deputies to report the missing girl.                                                                                                         source

 

Harry Belafonte Joins ‘Stand Your Ground’ Protest In Florida Capitol (PHOTOS)

American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte, Jr. greets Dream Defenders as he heads to Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office Friday, July 26, 2013 in the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Dream Defenders were joined by Belafonte, Jr. as they went into their 11th day of a sit-in of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office. The sit-in is their response to the ‘not guilty’ verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin

 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Singer and entertainer Harry Belafonte on Friday called on Florida Gov. Rick Scott to listen to protesters who are asking for a special legislative session to examine the state’s self-defense laws after the acquittal of George Zimmerman.

Protesters have occupied the Capitol since July 15 – or three days after a jury cleared Zimmerman of charges in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The group wants Scott to call a special session so legislators can change the state’s contentious “stand your ground” law but Scott has steadfastly refused.

Belafonte – who had never been to Tallahassee previously – joined the protest on Friday afternoon. The 86-year-old celebrity said the sight of the protesters “makes my autumn heart dance like it was spring.”

Belafonte said Scott still has a chance to act before the protests intensify and the situation becomes “ungovernable.”

“At the moment all of this is governable, all of this is in a place where it can be debated and analyzed and discussed in a very peaceful, calm, productive way,” said Belafonte, who first rose to fame during the 1950s.

Belafonte – who has had a history of civic activism for several decades – said he was not predicting violence but said the amount of protests of the state could mount and make the state come to a “grinding halt.”

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was acquitted earlier this month of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death last year of Martin, an unarmed black teenager. Zimmerman’s attorneys maintained he shot Martin in self-defense, but the delay in arresting him sparked an outcry among civil rights groups and others. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.

The main group leading the Capitol protests – the Dream Defenders – have maintained a constant presence for 11 straight days. While protesters come and go during the workday, a small band of them has spent every night sleeping in the hallways since the protest began.

So far police have allowed them to remain. In the last few days the number of those camped out at the Capitol has begun to grow reported law-enforcement authorities. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that 86 people spent Thursday night inside the building.

FDLE has spent nearly $51,000 on overtime costs since the protest began. The state has spent more than $140,000 on overall security costs over the 11-day period but that includes normal security expenses.

The protest was sparked by the Zimmerman verdict but the protesters want state officials to look at racial profiling, school district “zero tolerance” policies for students as well the “stand your ground” law that allows someone to use deadly force if they believe their life was threatened.

Scott met with several protesters last week where he told them he would not call a special session. The protesters are now trying to utilize a clause in state law that allows for individual legislators to ask for a special session.

Under the law the Secretary of State can poll all 160 members about a special session if 32 legislators ask for a special session in writing. It would then take a three-fifths vote for a session to be authorized.

Ciara Taylor said the Dream Defenders have gotten 28 legislators to back the idea.

But she said that she and others are prepared to remain at the Capitol for weeks in order to get what they want.

I’m prepared to spend a whole month, a whole season,” said Taylor. “I’m prepared to be here till next legislative session if that’s necessary.”                                                                                                                   source

 

Florida Shooting: 7 Dead In Hialeah Apartment Shootout, Including Gunman (VIDEO)

 

HIALEAH, Fla. — Police say the gunman who killed six people and took two others hostage before a SWAT team fatally shot him was a 43-year-old resident of the South Florida apartment complex.

Police spokesman Carl Zogby has identified the man as Pedro Vargas.

Zogby says the incident began when Vargas set his apartment on fire Friday evening. The building managers noticed smoke and ran to his apartment, and Zogby said he shot and killed the couple when they arrived.

Zogby says Vargas ran back into his burning apartment and fired 10 to 20 shots into the street from a balcony, killing a third victim.

Police say Vargas eventually barricaded himself in an apartment where he took the hostages.

Zogby says the whole incident lasted eight hours, with the hostages held at gunpoint for about three.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

A gunman moving floor to floor in a South Florida apartment complex killed six people and took two others hostage before a SWAT team stormed the building and killed him early Saturday, police said.

Police got a call around 6:30 p.m. Friday that shots had been fired in the building, a five-story structure with dozens of apartments in Hialeah, a suburb a few miles north of Miami, according to Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez.

Ester Lazcano lives two doors down from where the shooting began and said she was in the shower when she heard the first shots, then there were at least a dozen more.

“I felt the shots,” she said.

Miriam Valdes, 70, lives on the top floor – one floor above where the shooting began. She said she heard gunfire and later saw smoke and what smelled like burned plastic entering her apartment, and ran in fear to the unit across the hall.

Rodriguez said the gunman moved from floor to floor, and “eventually he barricades himself in an apartment” with two hostages.

A crisis team was able to briefly establish communication with the man. Rodriguez said negotiators and a SWAT team tried talking with him from the other side of the door of the unit where he held the hostages.

Valdes said she heard about eight officers talking with him as she stayed holed up at the neighboring apartment. She said officers told him to “let these people out.”

“We’re going to help you,” she said they told him.

She said the gunman first asked for his girlfriend and then his mother but refused to cooperate.

Rodriguez said the talks eventually “just fell apart.” Officers stormed the building, fatally shooting the gunman in an exchange of gunfire.

“They made the decision to go in there and save and rescue the hostages,” Rodriguez said. Both hostages survived.

Rodriguez said police discovered two people, a male and female, shot to death in the hallway in front of one unit. Three more, a male and two females, were found shot and killed in another apartment on a different floor.

Another man who was walking his children into an apartment across the street also was killed. Rodriguez said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the gunman took aim at him from an upper-level balcony or if he was hit by a stray bullet.

Neighbor Fabian Valdes lives across the street and said he heard shots fired, then looked out his window and saw a man lying on the floor, outside the front lobby. He was on his back and had his arms and legs outstretched.

Fabian Valdes said he was in shock. “It’s something you never expect,” he said.

Miriam Valdes and other neighbors said the shooter lived in the building with his mother, but police would not confirm that information or give any other details on the gunman. As of Saturday afternoon, they had not provided information on victims or a possible motive.

But Zulima Niebles said police told her that three of her family members were among the victims. She said her sister Merly Sophia Niebles, her sister’s husband, and her sister’s daughter Priscila Perez, 16, were all shot and killed.

Zulima Niebles’ husband, Agustin Hernandez, was moving the family’s things out of the apartment building and into his car Saturday. Among them were several photos, one showing the teen girl smiling in a red graduation gown, another of his sister-in-law in a white dress and pearls.

Marcela Chavarri, director of the American Christian School, said Priscila Perez, 16, was about to enter her senior year at the school.

“She was a lovely girl,” Chavarri said through tears. “She was always happy and helping her classmates.”

In Hialeah – a suburb of about 230,000 residents, about three-quarters of whom are Cuban or Cuban-American – the street in the quiet, apartment-building-lined neighborhood where the shootings occurred was still blocked by tape Saturday afternoon.

The building where the standoff occurred is an aging, beige structure with an open terrace in the middle. The apartment where neighbors said the shooting started was charred, the door and ceiling immediately outside burned black.

The building across the street where the man was shot is called Casa Royal, or Royal House in English.    source

 

Bradley Manning Defense Delivers Closing Argument, Verdict To Come Soon

U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning (2nd L) is escorted by military police as he leaves after the first day of closing arguments in his military trial on July 25, 2013 at Fort George G. Meade, Md

 

FORT MEADE, Md. — Look closely at the video of an Army helicopter gunning down civilians in Iraq. Look at it through the fresh eyes of a 21-year-old humanist a few weeks into his deployment, Bradley Manning’s defense attorney told the judge during closing arguments in his trial on Friday.

What you will not see are what Maj. Ashden Fein, a prosecutor, antiseptically described as “the actions and experiences of U.S. service members conducting a wartime mission.” As David Coombs, Manning’s defense attorney, played the famous “Collateral Murder” video, he said, “We just saw at least nine lives extinguished. Did they all deserve to die?”

The Apache pilots cracking jokes during that video may have been able to disconnect, Coombs said, but not Manning. “You disengage from a difficult thing so that you can go to bed at night and sleep,” he said, “but what do you do when you can’t disengage?”

As Manning’s trial reached its close on Friday, Coombs calmly delivered a two-and-a-half hour argument that his client was a “good-intentioned,” sensitive young man who deliberately selected his leaks for the public’s benefit because he couldn’t look away.

It was because of the horror he felt at incidents like those in Apache video — and not because he is a fame-seeking “anarchist” as the government alleged in its closing arguments — that Manning did what he did, Coombs said. After playing selections from the cockpit video, Coombs went on to address the government’s case against his client point by point. Their arguments, he said, amount to “the logic of a child.”

Manning is the private first class who has been charged with 22 offenses for sending WikiLeaks 700,000 files. If convicted on the most serious of these charges — aiding the enemy — he could go to prison for life.

After Manning’s lawyer ended his closing argument, Fein, the government prosecutor, was offered one more chance to rebut the defense’s case. Spelling out what he thought Manning should have done if he were truly a whistleblower, Fein concluded that, “Instead of the American flag, he placed his trust and confidence in WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.”

Because Manning has chosen not to be tried by a jury of military officers, the presiding judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, will decide his fate. Before the trial went into recess on Friday, she announced that members of the press and public would be given one-day notice once she has reached a verdict.                                                 source

 

George Zimmerman Gets $12,000 Towards Buying Gun From Ohio Firearms Group

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio firearms group has raised more than $12,000 to be spent on guns or a security system for George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. But the money could end up being used to pay for Zimmerman’s defense costs and fees.

The $12,150.37 check that the group wrote to Zimmerman is the result of a fundraising effort that was launched because the group believes Zimmerman’s gun rights are being violated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The department has taken all the evidence from the trial, including the gun that killed Martin, as part of a civil rights investigation.

Zimmerman was acquitted earlier this month of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2012 shooting of Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., near Orlando. Zimmerman, 29, told police he shot Martin, 17, after the black teenager physically attacked him; Martin’s family and supporters say Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, racially profiled Martin as a potential criminal and wrongly followed him.

The verdict sparked protests and calls for federal officials to charge Zimmerman with violating Martin’s civil rights. Zimmerman’s brother and one of his attorneys have said he receives threats and is concerned about his safety.

The Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s check is meant to be spent on guns, ammunition, protective gear or a security system, said Ken Hanson, the group’s legal chairman.

“The Department of Justice refused to return him his gun, and he’s in need of protection,” Hanson said. “The money is intended to be used for anything he needs to defend himself or his family. He has complete discretion on how to use the money.”

The cashier’s check was sent through certified mail and was scheduled to be delivered Friday.

Zimmerman’s spokesman, Shawn Vincent, said before his acquittal all donations he received were deposited into a fund dedicated to pay for his legal defense costs and fees and managed by an independent administrator. He said the Ohio foundation’s check could be allocated similarly.

Vincent would not say what the donations to the fund have amounted to. But he said they have exceeded the $120,000 that Zimmerman’s attorneys had said was needed to put on a good defense before the trial started in May. The fund had raised almost $315,000 in January.

The Ohio foundation’s fundraiser, which began last week, ended Tuesday. Hanson said donations were sent from 48 states and three other countries.

Vincent said Zimmerman has been offered free guns but such donations haven’t been accepted.           source