George Zimmerman Loses Lawyer as Cops Seek Fight Video
Mark O'Mara says he will no longer represent Zimmerman.
MIAMI Sept. 10, 2013 -- George Zimmerman's lawyer said today he will no longer represent the man acquitted of murder in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin, even as police say that Zimmerman or his wife could face charges over Monday's domestic dispute.
Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, made the announcement one day after Shellie Zimmerman called police to say that George had assaulted her father and threatened her, leaving her "very, very scared."
Police said today they are still investigating the incident and that either George or his wife Shellie Zimmerman could eventually face charges.
Investigators are trying to watch video of the conflict captured on Shellie Zimmerman's iPad, which was broken into pieces. The iPad is being looked at by forensic examiners who hope to see what happened during the conflict, police said at a news conference today.
Lake Mary police spokesman Zach Hudson said that George Zimmerman and Shellie's father, Colin Morgan, got into an altercation in which they "put hands on each other," although he didn't know if they punched or shoved one another.
Shellie Zimmerman claimed in a 911 call that her husband punched her father in the nose. During the 911 call, Mrs.Zimmerman also reported that George Zimmerman had a gun on him, a claim that police later debunked, saying there was no gun found at the scene and that no one, including Shellie Zimmerman, said they had seen a weapon during the argument.
None of the individuals wanted to press charges.
Police are now looking into whether George or Shellie Zimmerman could face charges over the conflict, and are trying to piece together the iPad video to help the investigation, Hudson said.
"No one has seen the video on the iPad. It's in a couple of different pieces. Shellie was the one filming on the iPad," Hudson said.
"It's either going to be George or Shellie who will be prosecuted if anybody is going to be prosecuted," Hudson said.
Shellie Zimmerman recently filed papers seeking a divorce from Zimmerman.
A spokesman for Mark O'Mara, who succeeded in winning an acquittal for Zimmerman in the racially charged Trayvon Martin murder trial, said O'Mara will not represent Zimmerman in any future litigation including his divorce and any possible charges resulting from the Monday incident involving his wife and father-in-law.
O'Mara will still be Zimmerman's lawyer in a defamation suit pending against NBC and in the remaining motions stemming from the Trayvon Martin trial, including a motion to reimburse Zimmerman's attorneys and a motion to censure the prosecution.
O'Mara appeared to struggle with his anger at his client during Monday's incident in which he went to Zimmerman's house while police were still there. During a press conference later, O'Mara was asked if he had any advice for Zimmerman, and he answered, "Pay me."
Zimmerman's wife said that her husband has been acting as if he's "invincible" since his acquittal in July.
Zimmerman has twice been caught speeding since the end of his murder trial and made a controversial visit to the Kel Tec gun factory, the company that made the weapon he used to kill Martin.