Matthew Apperson, the man who shot at George Zimmerman last May, has been convicted of attempted second-degree murder.
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A jury deliberated for four hours. He faces sentencing October 17. In September, the paralegal claimed Zimmerman threatened him during a road rage incident.
The jury had the option to convict Apperson on a lesser charge of attempted manslaughter.
According to The Root, Apperson failed to meet the standard of self-defense because “he did not act in a reasonable, prudent or cautious manner prior to firing”.
Stone touched on the famous case, in which Zimmerman was acquitted for shooting and killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. According to Zimmerman, Apperson made comments about Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Apperson testified that he acted in self-defence a year ago.
But prosecutor Stewart Stone told jurors that Zimmerman’s vehicle had tinted windows, which were rolled up during the confrontation. The attorney made so many references to the shooting of Martin, the prosecutor accused him of trying that case again.
Apperson’s attorney, Michael LaFay, said that Zimmerman was the aggressor and brandished a gun in both incidents, but prosecutor Stewart Stone said there was no way Apperson could have seen a gun through the tinted windows of Zimmerman’s auto. He says, ‘Hey, don’t you know who the (expletive) I am?’ I realized at that moment. “Shoot me like you did that little kid?'” Apperson testified, adding that after a short exchange, Zimmerman answered his question. However, prosecutors pointed out that Zimmerman’s window had been up when the shot was sacked, causing glass to shatter and injure Zimmerman.
“He pulled in behind me, in my parking space, blocking me in”, Apperson said.
“I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to protect myself, ‘ so I grabbed the gun and I shot”, Apperson said.
“Oh, he went into a rage”, Apperson replied.
The incident (pictured) on May 11, 2015 was not the first encounter between Apperson and Zimmerman.
Apperson did not pursue a “stand your ground” defense.
“I could see his arm outreached with a gun”, Apperson said.
“When you picked up your gun there was no imminent threat of bodily (harm) against you, correct?” Apperson had allegedly told Zimmerman that he was wrong to kill Trayvon, and Zimmerman soon began threatening and following him.
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“I knew he was unsafe”, he replied, alluding to the Martin case.
