After the arrest of Trayvon Martin’s shooter George Zimmerman, a lot of people felt bond in the case (set at $150,000) was a bit low considering the weight of the crime .
Zimmerman was released Monday and went back into hiding after his family posted the necessary 10% to free him. However, a hearing set for today may examine the amount of cash available to Zimmerman, after it was later disclosed that his fundraising efforts had yielded approximately $200,000 to fund his presumed to be very expensive defense.
The funds in question were raised via a website Zimmerman himself set up , with a PayPal link, asking supporters to donate money to pay for his legal fees. Lawyers for Zimmerman later said they’d have advised against the move, but the site was undeniably a boon for Zimmerman- except for the fact that he did not disclose the stash when his bail was set.
Now legal experts say the money could put Zimmerman’s tentative freedom in jeopardy- the funds being, of course, a certain incentive to flee rather than face a murder charge.
Criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos told CNN that there is a decent chance Zimmerman will be tossed right back in the slammer to wait for his trial to begin:
“I know a lot of judges who would remand the guy back into custody immediately… If you’ve got more money stashed in an account and you could just pay the bond and be gone, that gives a lot of judges concern.”
Lawyers for the Martin family are displeased at the development, saying that Zimmerman’s secret stash of cash is an indicator “the lying has already begun.” Attorney Benjamin Crump said of the disclosure:
“[The Zimmerman family] tried to portray themselves as indigent that they did not have any money… We think the court should revoke his bond immediately, and he should be held accountable for misleading the court.”
The hearing in George Zimmerman’s case today was originally slated to be about whether or not his criminal record should be unsealed, but the bond issue is likely to overshadow the other legal concerns scheduled to be discussed.