No charges for George Zimmerman in new domestic violence case

1/31/2015

At the time, Zimmerman's former roommate called him "insane" and suggested he needed to be locked up, prosecutors said

George Zimmerman, shown here listening to the verdict when he was acquitted in 2013 of killing Trayvon Martin, will not be prosecuted on charges that he threatened his former roommate on Jan. 5 and threw a wine bottle at her. File photo by Joe Burbank/UPI/Pool

Zimmerman girlfriend "Why that man's not locked up is beyond me"

Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- George Zimmerman, the Florida man acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, won't be prosecuted in a domestic violence case, prosecutors said Friday.

Zimmerman's former roommate, Brittany Brumelle, hasrecanted the story she gave police Jan. 5, the State Attorney's Office said. At the time, she told officers who responded that Zimmerman was a "psychopath" and had thrown a wine bottle at her and broken her phone.

The officers came to their home after they heard breaking glass and saw a woman driving away without headlights on.

Zimmerman was arrested four days later even though Brumelle did not want to press charges.

Zimmerman, now 31, was a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford when he shot Martin, 17, in November 2012. He said the unarmed black teenager jumped him as he followed Martin through the gated community where the teen was staying with a relative and was found not guilty in a jury trial.

Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has been accused four times of violent incidents and has avoided prosecution each time.

The first was in September 2013, when his estranged wife said he hit her father and threatened to shoot her. In November 2013, a girlfriend told police he pointed a shotgun at her when she said she wanted to break up with him and last year he allegedly threatened another driver in a road rage incident.

The State Attorney's Office released body-cam video Friday of the Jan. 5 incident. Brumelle told officers she and Zimmerman got into a violent argument when she said she and her 5-year-old son were moving out.

"Why that man is not locked up is beyond me," she said, also calling Zimmerman "insane."

Brumelle told police she and Zimmerman were not involved in a sexual relationship but had had one encounter after drinking.

"For the benefit of this neighborhood, watch this guy," she said.

But Brumelle appeared with a lawyer after prosecutors issued a subpoena to compel her to cooperate. She denied that he had thrown a bottle at her and said she had not been afraid of him.

Phil Archer, the state attorney, said there were no witnesses to contradict Brumelle's current version of events. Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell said he supports the decision to drop the case.

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