Day 17 of the George Zimmerman second-degree murder case began on Tuesday as the Florida court heard testimony from Chris Serino, the lead investigator on the Trayvon Martin shooting case.
The Zimmerman case has made national headlines and sparked debate about race, guns and equal justice before the law. Zimmerman, 29, who is half white and Hispanic, is facing life in prison for second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty, arguing that he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Martin, a 17-year-old African American, in central Florida back in February 2012.
Playing portions of the Feb. 29, 2012 interview in which police played back a portion of Zimmerman's non-emergency call, prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda asked Serino whether referring to someone as "f-----g punks" demonstrates "ill will" or spite," according to CBS News. The prosecution is trying to prove that Zimmerman had harmful intentions the night he killed the teen.
Serino agreed Zimmerman's words displayed an intent to harm Martin.
During his call with dispatchers that night, Zimmerman made statements including "f-----g punks" and "these a--holes always get away." He later told police in the Feb. 29 interview that he was referring to people that "victimize the neighborhood" since several recent burglaries had been reported in the area.
O'Mara questioned Serino about the recent burglaries, asking about a man who had been arrested for burglarizing homes near Zimmerman's neighborhood. Responding to O'Mara's question, Serino said he wasn't concerned that Zimmerman was worried about crime in the neighborhood.
O'Mara asked whether the term "these a--holes always get away" demonstrated ill will or spite.
"If I may, not towards an individual - it seemed like more of a generalization," Serino said.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys asked Serino about whether George Zimmerman was following Martin the night of the altercation. De la Rionda replayed a portion of the Feb. 29 interview tape in court, in which Zimmerman says, "They told me not to follow him. I wasn't following him, I was just going in the same direction."
"That's following," Serino said on the tape.
O'Mara asked whether Serino had any evidence that Zimmerman continued to follow Martin after a non-emergency dispatcher told him not to.
"I would answer I have information, yes," Serino said. "Just based on where we located Trayvon and the fact that the altercation happened after the confrontation. That's my interpretation. There was some following."
But when asked by O'Mara, Serino said that he believed Zimmerman was in fact following Martin.
"Did you think there was anything wrong with following him to see where he was going?" asked O'Mara.
"Legally speaking no," responded Serino, reports ABC News.
Serino also told defense attorneys there were no major inconsistencies with Zimmerman's account of the events.
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