The judge overseeing the murder trial of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin has rejected a prosecution request to raise Zimmerman’s bail. Prosecutor Bernardo de la Rionda asked for the increase on Friday after Zimmerman’s attorney disclosed his client had raised more than $200,000 through his now-defunct website.
Bernardo de la Rionda: “The family members represented that they had no money, when in truth they really did. So I don’t know if they did that intentionally or what, but so I would submit that there’s a change in circumstance regarding bond, and I would ask the court to consider possibly raising the bond.”
The $200,000 raised by Zimmerman exceeds the $150,000 bail he was freed on last week. But on Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester refused to raise Zimmerman’s bail, saying he needed more financial information on Zimmerman’s fundraising before making a ruling.