George Zimmerman was arrested and is being charged with a felony after a domestic disturbance involving a girlfriend who claimed he pointed a long-barrel shotgun at her.
Zimmerman was arrested at around 1 p.m. Monday after an incident at his girlfriend’s home about 20 miles away from the Florida town where he shot and killed Trayvon Martin in February 2012.
Dennis Lemma, a spokesman for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, said in a press conference Monday that Zimmerman’s girlfriend claimed that the couple had been having a verbal dispute.
“At that time she alleged that he had broken a table and at one point pointed a long-barreled shotgun at her,” said Lemma. Describing the incident further, Lemma said that Zimmerman pushed his girlfriend outside of the residence and barricaded himself inside.
Lemma said that Zimmerman is charged with aggravated assault, battery domestic violence and criminal mischief.
The aggravated assault charge is a felony charge while the other two are misdemeanor charges.
In response to questions from reporters, Lemma said that the girlfriend, believed to be Samantha Scheibe, did not indicate to authorities that she was pregnant, contrary to some reports.
No weapons have yet been recovered, Lemma said, but they believe two weapons may be present. The girlfriend was not injured.
Zimmerman has been prominent in the news since his acquittal for second-degree murder in Martin’s shooting in July. Days later, Zimmerman helped rescue a family of four during a rollover accident in Sanford, about a mile from where the Martin shooting took place.
He has also been pulled over by police on three separate occasions for various infractions including speeding and excessive window tint on his vehicle.
Zimmerman, who used a Kel-Tec 9 mm in the Martin shooting, visited a Kel-Tec factory in August.
Zimmerman’s wife Shellie filed for divorce in early September. Several days later she called 911 to report that Zimmerman threatened her and her father with a firearm during another domestic dispute. No charges were filed in that incident due to lack of evidence.
Scheibe was present during that disturbance but told Lake Mary, Fla. police that she did not know what was going on between Zimmerman and his estranged wife. Scheibe did tell police that guns were present in Zimmerman’s vehicle at the time.
In October, Zimmerman’s estranged wife also alleged that Zimmerman left her a “subliminal message” in the form of a bullet-filled shooting range target posted on the wall of her home.
In Florida, domestic violence charges against pregnant women automatically upgrade to the felony charge of aggravated battery.
Zimmerman is scheduled to face a judge Tuesday afternoon.
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