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Subscribe to RSSZimmerman, the man who shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, does not have enough money to post bail according to his defense attorney. NBC's Kate Snow reports.
Updated at 6:55 p.m. ET: A Florida judge granted bail Thursday for George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin in February.
Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $1 million, which means Zimmerman will need to come up with 10 percent, as is standard, to be released, NBC News reported. The rest will be provided by a bail bondsman.
This is the second time Zimmerman has received bail, and this time, Lester used strong language in his ruling, referring to Zimmerman’s “lack of candor” and arguing that Zimmerman "is manipulating the system to his own benefit."
In April, Lester set Zimmerman’s bail at $150,000; Zimmerman was released from jail days later. But when the judge learned that Zimmerman stayed mum as his wife Shellie Zimmerman inaccurately portrayed the couple's finances, specifically a PayPal account with at least $130,000 in donations from around the country, Lester yanked his bond.
It is unclear when Zimmerman will be able to post the money. While defense attorney Mark O'Mara acknowledged to NBC News last week that there is more than $200,000 in Zimmerman's legal defense fund, O'Mara said after the ruling Thursday that Zimmerman could not make a $1 million bond.
"George Zimmerman and his family do not have anywhere near $1,000,000 for collateral so even if we pay the $100,000 fee, the bail bond company will have to agree to work with us on how the collateral would be posted," O'Mara wrote in a statement on the official website for Zimmerman's legal case.
O'Mara also said last week that his firm had already started spending some of the $200,000-plus in Zimmerman's defense fund on legal costs.
George Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, is indicating that it may be very difficult for his client to come up with ten percent of the $1 million bond set by a Fla., judge on Thursday. NBC's Jamie Novogrod reports.
Zimmerman has been in jail since last month, when prosecutors told the judge that Zimmerman hid from the court the fact he had raised $135,000 in online donations. The judge then revoked the $150,000 bail he had granted on April 20.
From June: Judge revokes Zimmerman bail
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Martin, 17, who was killed as he walked through a gated community in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26. Zimmerman claimed he shot the teen out of self-defense after Martin punched him and banged his head against the sidewalk.
In his written ruling, Lester noted the evidence on Zimmerman's conduct outside of jail that the court was given during last Friday's three-hour bail hearing.
Zimmerman's defense team "presented evidence about his good behavior while on electronic monitoring after his release on bond," Lester wrote. While he went on to list Zimmerman’s breaches of the court -- including deceiving the court on his finances, which he said was "akin to violating a bond condition" -- Lester later wrote in his ruling, "This Court does not fear that the Defendant would pose a threat to others in the community if released."
Conditions of his freedom include refraining from criminal activity, alcohol, and contact with Martin's family; not getting a passport or going to the Orlando-Sanford airport; and checking in with the pre-trial release department of the court every 48 hours.
Zimmerman also is not allowed to leave Seminole County without authorization, and he will be subject to electronic monitoring at his expense, Lester wrote.
A Florida Judge has set George Zimmerman's new bond at $1 million, which Zimmerman's lawyer said is too high for his client, and will remain in jail until his trial begins. NBC's Erika Edwards reports.
Judge: 'Defendant is manipulating the system'
Although Judge Lester granted Zimmerman bond again, his ruling included several sharply-worded barbs. Among them: It "appears to the Court that the Defendant is manipulating the system to his own benefit."
"The evidence is clear," the judge wrote, "that the Defendant and his wife acted in concert, but primarily at the Defendant's direction, to conceal their cash holdings." The judge said that Zimmerman's "lack of candor" was not limited to the courtroom, and that Zimmerman also misled his attorney, O'Mara, about his finances.
In addition to failing to disclose the funds he had collected in April, Zimmerman also neglected to disclose a second passport he had in a safe deposit box, which Lester also made note of in his ruling Thursday.
"When you start fitting in parts of the puzzle -- this passport not disclosed, the money not being really his -- really being 'found money' according to the court -- his wife lying and Mr. Zimmerman being complicit in that lie, then the judge can see a scenario in which maybe if the going got tough, Mr. Zimmerman might leave the country," Deen said.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said, "Trayvon’s parents would rather that the killer of their unarmed child remain in jail until the trial, however they respect the ruling of the court and the strong message this judge sent that deference to judicial integrity is paramount to all court proceedings."
The Martins understand this "is not a sprint to justice, but a long journey to justice" for Trayvon, Crump said.
At Zimmerman's second bond hearing on June 29, the defense provided more details about their version of the encounter between Martin and Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer.
“The reality of what happened that night is that my client had his nose broken -– or fractured -– and it was bleeding all over the place,” Mark O’Mara said, according to NBC News. He presented a medical report written by a physician's assistant the day after the shooting that said Zimmerman's nose was "likely broken."
Martin “got shot because -- and he was killed because -- of his own doing,” O'Mara added.
But the prosecution argued Zimmerman had jumped to conclusions about Martin, who was returning to his father's girlfriend's home carrying a can of AriZona watermelon drink and Skittles that he had gone out to purchase in the rain that night. Martin was unarmed.
“The state’s contention is what he, the defendant, was doing is he was targeting; profiling,” Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda said. “He was trying to act like a police officer, but he wasn’t obviously authorized to act like a police officer.”
Read more details from the medical report on Zimmerman
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. His wife, Shellie, was charged with perjury after investigators discovered she had helped cover up the $135,000 the couple raised to help pay for legal fees and living expenses.
There is no indication when Zimmerman's murder trial might take place.
NBC News' James Novogrod contributed reporting from Sanford, Fla. msnbc.com's Elizabeth Chuck contributed from New York.
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