Florida Man Who Fired at George Zimmerman’s Car Sentenced to 20 years

A Florida man founded guilty of shooting at George Zimmerman’s car in 2015 was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison, ending a trial that once again put Mr. Zimmerman, who was cleared in the 2012 killing of the unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin, back in the spotlight.

A jury last month discovered the man, Matthew Apperson, convicted of attempted second-degree murder and two other charges after he fired into Mr. Zimmerman’s vehicle on May 11, 2015, in Lake Mary, Florida a town near Orlando, as per a charging document submitted by state lawyers in Seminole County.

The 20-year jail decision by Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson was the mandated minimum, stated Lynne Bumpus-Hooper, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office located in Seminole County. Mr. Apperson got 15 years for each of the two other charges– shooting into an occupied car and intensified assault with a firearm– however they will run concurrently, she included.

A legal representative for Mr. Apperson, Michael LaFay, considered the sentence to be severe. Mr. LaFay had asked the court to release Mr. Apperson pending his appeal, however the judge denied the movement for public-safety reasons, Ms. Bumpus-Hooper said.

“He fired on another car as both automobiles were driving down a hectic four-lane highway during a lunch hour in the middle of a workday,” Ms. Bumpus-Hooper stated.

Matthew Apperson, a 37-year-old paralegal, and Mr. Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Mr. Martin, 17, in 2012, had a number of confrontations before the shooting, Ms. Bumpus-Hooper said.

In the fight that occurred around 12:45 p.m. on May 11, 2015, the two men were driving on Lake Mary Boulevard near Mr. Apperson’s workplace at the very same time by coincidence, Mr. LaFay stated on Monday.