Taking the stand in his own defense Thursday, the man accused of opening fire on George Zimmerman a year ago offered a very different account than Zimmerman of the road rage incident in which he’s charged.
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In last year’s incident, Apperson testified that he acted in self-defense because Zimmerman flashed a gun, the AP said. Assistant State Attorney Stewart Stone told jurors that Apperson set off the confrontation, chasing Zimmerman’s Honda, something that was caught on a nearby surveillance camera.
Apperson testified that the two first encountered each other in September 2014, when the two were driving side by side.
Zimmerman, 32, is the former neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted in the 2012 death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, a case that spurred protests across the country.
A jury found Matthew Apperson guilty on all charges for shooting at George Zimmerman last May. His sentencing will take place next month.
“A vehicle came up behind me quickly, and honked its horn and flashed its high beams”, Zimmerman testified Tuesday.
In his closing arguments, LaFay called Apperson “a belligerent, obnoxious liar, ” and called him “a bully with a lot of guns and a lot of ammunition”. Apperson pulled up beside Zimmerman and shot at him, but the bullet missed, Zimmerman said.
“I said, ‘What are you going to do? I noticed in the left land there was a truck matching my speed and keeping up with me, and it seemed odd”, Apperson said. He says, ‘Hey, don’t you know who the (expletive) I am?’ I realized at that moment. “Are you going to shoot me like you shot that little kid?'” Apperson said.
Apperson’s lawyer in turn questioned Zimmerman on the witness stand, getting Zimmerman to acknowledge that he had sold the gun used to shoot Martin for $250,000 and considers Black Lives Matter activists to be “terrorists”, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Apperson said he told Zimmerman he was wrong to kill Trayvon, which is when Zimmerman began threatening and following him. Police officers and crime scene analysts verified that information during the trial.
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Apperson will be back in court for sentencing October 17 at 9 a.m. The case prompted national debates about the use of firearms for self-defense and also racial issues.
