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Zimmerman attorney will not represent him in domestic incident

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Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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George Zimmerman will no longer be represented by the attorney who helped him gain acquittal for second-degree murder after a domestic incident that occurred on Monday.

Shawn Vincent, a spokesman for Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara, told TheDCNF that O’Mara will no longer be representing Zimmerman in the case related to Monday’s incident. The Orlando-based attorney will also not be representing Zimmerman in a pending divorce case.

The announcement came just days after O’Mara said he would be joining CNN as a legal analyst. When asked by reporters if he had any advice for Zimmerman, O’Mara said “pay me.”

Zimmerman’s wife, Shellie, called 911 Monday to report a domestic incident involving Zimmerman. Mrs. Zimmerman told the 911 dispatcher that “I don’t know what he’s capable of. I’m really, really scared.”

The incident occurred at a house owned by Mrs. Zimmerman’s father. Mrs. Zimmerman was in the process of moving out of the house when an altercation took place.

“He’s in his car and he continually has his hand on his gun,” Mrs. Zimmerman told the 911 dispatcher. “He keeps staying ‘Step closer.’ He’s just threatening all of us with his firearm. He’s going to shoot us,” she said.

Mrs. Zimmerman told the dispatcher that she believed that Zimmerman had punched her father in the nose, possibly breaking it. She also said that her husband smashed her iPad during the dispute which occurred Monday afternoon at a house owned by her father.

Mrs. Zimmerman later admitted that she did not see her husband with a gun.

On Tuesday, a Lake Mary police spokesman said “As of right now, a gun is not a part of the equation.” The police also said that there was no evidence that Zimmerman had punched his father-in-law in the nose, despite Mrs. Zimmerman’s claim.

No charges have been filed in the incident, though Lake Mary, Florida police say that charges could come at any time.

“There was heightened emotion, and a disagreement took place,” O’Mara said at a press conference at the scene on Monday while he was still representing Zimmerman.

“Silly stuff like pots and pans and dishes gets so emotionalized that it overflows and that is what really happened here,” said O’Mara.

O’Mara also said that during the domestic incident that he believed Zimmerman did have a gun. The gun, he said, was located in Zimmerman’s truck. Vincent later said that the gun issue was still unclear.

This latest incident involving Zimmerman, who has been in the news several times since his acquittal in July, occurred several days after Mrs. Zimmerman filed for divorce from her husband.

She was interviewed last week and said that she was unsure of their relationship status and that “George is all about George.” The couple have been married for seven years.

Mrs. Zimmerman was recently convicted of perjury after she admittedly lied about the $135,000 in funds held in a PayPal account set up to help pay for her husband’s defense. Mrs. Zimmerman was sentenced to a year of probation and 100 hours of community service.

Vincent said that O’Mara will be representing Zimmerman on a couple of issues pertaining to the murder trial. Vincent told the TheDCNF that O’Mara is the local attorney of record for the NBC lawsuit, though he’s not the primary litigator on that case.

Zimmerman is suing NBC Universal for editing a non-emergency call placed shortly before Zimmerman shot Martin. Zimmerman claims that NBC’s edit made him sound racist.

Vincent said that O’Mara will also finish out cases that are pending regarding costs involved in the murder trial as well as sanctions against state prosecutors. O’Mara has alleged that state prosecutors withheld evidence during the discovery phase of the trial.

Lake Mary police plan to hold another press conference about the incident Tuesday evening.

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