Get ready for a bunch of information in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case, as prosecutors released a boatload of related documents.
Trayvon Martin’s fatal encounter with George Zimmerman was “avoidable,” and the teen was not doing anything criminal at the time of their confrontation on Feb. 26, in a NEW report by Sanford, Fla., police says.
The report, dated March 13, came nearly a month before a special prosecutor brought 2nd-degree-murder charges against Zimmerman, 28, in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon.
He has pleaded not guilty and said he acted in self-defense.
“The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely, if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party’s concern,” the report said. “There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter.”
A large cache of reports, documents, photos and other descriptions of evidence in the case were released to the public Thursday evening after being disclosed previously to defense attorneys.
The report said a single bullet that went into Trayvon’s heart.
Other police investigative reports said that Trayvon had been staying in the gated residential complex for a week before the shooting and that he had been sent to the home of a friend by his father after the teen had been suspended from school for 10 days for marijuana possession. A toxicology report on his body found small amount of THC in his blood.
A police report concluded that at the time he was confronted by Zimmerman, Trayvon “was in fact generally running in the direction of where he was staying as a guest in the neighborhood.”
Zimmerman had reported “suspicious persons, all young black males” to police on three previous occasions in 2011, the reports said.
“According to record checks, all of Zimmerman’s suspicious person calls while residing in the Retreat neighborhood have identified Black males as the subjects,” the report said.
According to a report by Christopher Serino of the Sanford Police Department, a witness said she heard “a commotion, which sounded to her like arguing.” She looked out from her bedroom window and saw two men on the ground.
“She then heard someone yell ‘help, help,’ ” the report said. “She then heard a ‘pop’ noise and then saw the decedent laying on the ground, motionless, and the other male, who she described as ‘larger’ and ‘Hispanic looking,’ standing over the decedent.”
Meanwhile, the eerie surveillance video showing Trayvon Martin inside a Sanford 7-Eleven the night he was shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was also released along with dozens of documents and several recordings and photos.
The video, released by the Duval County State Attorney’s Office, shows the Miami Gardens teen dressed in a dark-colored hoodie, light-colored pants and white shoes enter the store the night of the Feb. 26 shooting.
Martin is shown from two different angles entering the store and purchasing the bag of Skittles and can of iced tea he had with him when he was shot.
The 17-year-old leaves the store with the candy and drink in a plastic bag.
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