Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson has not yet ruled on whether or not prior calls made by George Zimmerman in the months before he shot and killed Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, will be heard by the jury.
Prosecutor Richard Mantei argued on Tuesday, the five calls Zimmerman made to police about people he viewed as suspicious in the neighborhood, before the 911 call on the night he shot Martin, are central as they show his state of mind. On these calls, Zimmerman describes whom he views as suspicious characters, as black males.
Prosecutors want jurors to hear those earlier calls made by Zimmerman because they believe that while they were not necessarily a bad thing, they show his frustration with the several break-ins at the townhomes, culminating on the night when he took matters into his own hands and fatally shot Martin.
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara said, Zimmerman’s prior 911 calls were irrelevant. He said, such testimony would likely confuse the jury who would be asked to make the leap from Zimmerman being a good citizen to one who was seething the night he killed Martin.
Nelson, who listened to the calls in court said she would need to review case-law before making a ruling.
On Tuesday, the state called its fifth witness, Wendy Dorival, a civilian employee of the Sanford Police Department who had oversight of neighborhood watch programs.
Dorival said she had worked with Zimmerman who was the then neighborhood watch coordinator the night he shot Martin. She told jurors that while neighborhood watch coordinators are the “eyes and ears” of any neighborhood, they are not to approach anyone suspicious or act as ‘vigilante police.”
Dorival described having a positive, professional relationship with Zimmerman so much so that at one time he wrote the head of Sanford Police Department praising her. The defense appeared to turn Dorival who undercut the state’s theory that Zimmerman saw himself as a “wannabe cop.”
Dorival said at one point she recommended Zimmerman for the Citizens on Patrol program of the SPD, a role which he declined.
Prosecutors next called Don O’Brien, president of the homeowners association at the Retreat at Twin Lakes, where Martin was killed.
O’Brien told jurors that he didn’t think a neighborhood watch was necessary for the community of townhomes. He said from its inception, residents were told at every meeting not to get too close to anyone who might seem suspicious, stay a safe distance and call 911.
O’Mara did get O’Brien at one point to say, an individual could follow a suspicious person, but at a safe distance.
Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Martin, an unarmed black teen. He has claimed self-defense.
Prosecutors say, Zimmerman followed, profiled and fatally shot Martin because he thought he was up to no good.
