George Zimmerman threatened to kill man in road rage incident, Florida police say

The Moment George Zimmerman Was Pulled Over For Speeding On SUNDAY: He Told Officers He Had A GUN And Was Going Nowhere In Particular

• Matthew Apperson, 35, reported Zimmerman pulled up next to him and the passenger asked, 'Why are you pointing a finger at me?'
• 'Do you know who I am?' Zimmerman followed up, and allegedly threatened the life of the other motorist
• In 911 call, Apperson says Zimmerman, threatened to 'kick my ass and shoot me' and said 'he was gonna shoot me dead'
• The driver also reported seeing Zimmerman in his truck parked outside his work two days later
• Zimmerman was acquitted last year of second-degree murder charge in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen

George Zimmerman allegedly confronted another driver during a road rage spat, during which he asked 'Do you know who I am?' and threatened to kill him.

Lake Mary police are investigating two reports involving the driver and 30-year-old Zimmerman, who was acquitted last year of a second-degree murder charge in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Police say that on Tuesday, Matthew Apperson, 35, was driving when he noticed a truck that 'stayed next to him, not accelerating or slowing' before he came to a traffic light. 

Police released 911 calls from Apperson, in which he identifies Zimmerman as the driver and says he was 'threatening to kick my ass and shoot me,' and that 'he was gonna shoot me dead.'

Quiz: George Zimmerman is caught on police bodycam after he was stopped this week for threatening a driver

Stopped again: Zimmerman was stopped after allegedly threatening to kill Apperson, and in dash cam footage, an officer is seen pulling a firearm from his waistband

 

Zimmerman questioned by police over 'road rage threat'

 

 

911 call: Zimmerman 'threatened to kill' driver

 

According to a police report, Apperson later stated had seen the 'occupants were yelling at him'. When he lowered his window, Zimmerman said: 'I f**king kill you. Do you know who I am?'

FIRST 911 CALL

Apperson: I was simply driving down Lake Mary Boulevard, left my work to get a cup of coffee, and I noticed a Honda Ridgeline on Lake Mary Boulevard that was going the same rate of speed as I, and rolled their window down.

I then rolled my window down and there was a passenger going, 'Hey, what's your problem? Why are you shaking your finger?' 

I said 'Excuse me? I was in my car, rapping to myself with my windows up.' And I looked over and George Zimmerman was the driver. And they were threatening to kick my ass and shoot me.'

Dispatcher: You know this was George Zimmerman?

Apperson: Oh, for a fact! So I proceeded - I had no cell phone - so I proceeded to the nearest gas station where I could use the phone. He then came up in his Ridgeline - this will be on camera - towards my car, almost hit my car [unclear] said he was gonna shoot me dead.

Apperson said he drove to a nearby Circle K store and the truck had followed him. The police report states that as Matthew exited his vehicle, 'the gold pick-up truck drove toward him, and stopped and began yelling at him again.'

He went to the store and asked to use the phone to call the police.

Zimmerman was gone by the time officers arrived. When speaking with Apperson, the officer stated he 'observed a bulge in the front' of Apperson's pants, and asked if he was carrying a firearm.

Apperson produced a firearm and his concealed weapons permit, then placed the gun in the trunk of his car.

Two days later, the man called 911 again, saying he saw Zimmerman in his truck outside his office at W K White and Associates Inc, a company described on its website as social security disability specialists.

Apperson says he recognized the truck by a sticker on the back with the logo of Kel-Tec, a firearm manufacturer.

After spotting the truck, Apperson told police he saw it 'accelerate hearing the tires "chirp,"' 

Police arrived as Zimmerman's truck was leaving and questioned him.

Zimmerman told the officers that he had just come out from an appointment at Waymont Court, the same development where W K White is located, and offered to show them a receipt as proof. After shaking hands with the officers, Zimmerman left.

Officer Bianca Gillett, spokesperson for the Lake Mary police department, told MailOnline, 'the officers on scene did not verify Mr. Zimmerman’s appointment, as they did not further the investigation since the victim did not wish to prosecute.'

SECOND 911 CALL

Apperson: This is the location of the incident where this guy road raged on me, so apparently he's thinking I live or work around here, which is definitely the truth. It's really disheartening to see him lurking around here. Keller Williams Realty is the business. 

Dispatcher: For you? Or what he's parked in front of.

Apperson: That's where he's backed in. He's backed in trying to hide, right at the Keller Williams Realty. As you first drive in to Waymont Court, the first set of buildings on the right.

'As of now, the incident is closed. If the victim did wish to assist with prosecution, we could reopen and review the incident at that time,' she added.

Apperson told MailOnline on Friday afternoon he did not want to comment on the incidents until he had spoken to his attorney. According to police, he declined to press charges.

After he was acquitted of second-degree murder following the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman has had numerous incidents of trouble with law enforcement.

CNN reported that in September 2013, Zimmerman was detained but no charges were filed after his estranged wife Shellie Zimmerman, 26, called 911, saying her husband had threatened her and her father.

The couple was in the middle of divorce proceedings when Zimmerman confronted Shellie at their home. 

Zimmerman allegedly punched Shellie's father and smashed her iPad. In the 911 call, Shellie explains Zimmerman left the house but waited for her outside in his truck.

'He's in his car and he continually has his hand on his gun, and he's saying, 'Step closer,' she tells the operator. 'He's just threatening all of us with his firearm.'

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No charges: Alleged victim Matt Apperson, 35, pictured here with his partner Liza Mariel Irizarry-Apperson, declined to press charges against Zimmerman

 

911 call: Zimmerman 'waiting outside road rage victim's work'

Let go: Zimmerman was allowed to go by police because Apperson said he did not want to press charges

Two months later, Zimmerman was in custody again, this time for aggravated assault with a weapon and two misdemeanors after his new girlfriend phoned 911 during an altercation.

According to USA Today, Zimmerman's girlfriend Samantha Scheibe, 27, ordered him out of the house, at which point he 'cocked the shotgun' and put it in a case with his AR-15 assault rifle. 

As Scheibe began moving his belongings out, Zimmerman took the shotgun back out, pointed it at Scheibe and 'asked her if she really wanted to do that.'

Rage: George Zimmerman, 30, is accused of threatening to kill another motorist after an exchange where he asked 'Do you know who I am?'

Scheibe later retracted her allegations and asked for charges to be dropped, saying, 'I believe that the police misinterpreted me and that I may have misspoken about certain facts that in my statement to police.'

Zimmerman phoned police afterwards to clarify the incident, claiming an argument had taken place over Scheibe's pregnancy.

Huffington Post later reported that Scheibe was not pregnant at the time.

Back in July, Gawker reported that Zimmerman was spotted in the parking lot of Pampano Pat's Motorcycles, which sells guns along with bikes.

Zimmerman told police he was 'helping protect the store for the owner,' but according to the owner, Pat Johnson, he hadn't hired Zimmerman, saying he 'has sat outside of his store several times on his own lately.'

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Armed: George Zimmerman was pulled over on the road in Forney, Texas and it was revealed that he had a gun in a glovebox

Dash-cam footage emerged today showing the moment that George Zimmerman was pulled over by a police officer in Texas for speeding and told them he was carrying a gun.

Just over two weeks since his dramatic acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin, 17, Zimmerman was issued the warning on Sunday in Forney, Texas, just 25 miles from Dallas.

The latest traffic incident comes a week-and-a-half after Zimmerman rescued a family-of-four from their upturned SUV over a thousand miles away in Florida, near  where he shot Martin dead.

 

With Zimmerman facing death threats following his acquittal, his brother Robert said that his family have to deal with rumors about his whereabouts every day.

He added that they go to great lengths to ensure their safety in accordance with the law.

CBS Dallas Fort Worth have claimed that the officer did not recognize Zimmerman, who has been at the center of a nationwide controversy since he was found not guilty of the second-degree murder and manslaughter of Trayvon Martin earlier this month.

Indeed, Zimmerman is even reported to have asked the officer if he knew his face from television and the officer again told the one-time Florida neighborhood watch captain that he did not.

While being questioned by the officer, Zimmerman, who was driving a 2008 Honda pick-up with Florida plates, told the officer that he was armed and was instructed to keep the gun in the car's glove-compartment.

The officer issued Zimmerman a warning for speeding and then sent him on his way - but not before asking him where he was going, to which he replied 'nowhere in particular'.

'Nowhere in particular, why is that?' responded the officer according to In Forney.com

'You didn’t see my name?' said Zimmerman. The officer then responded, 'wow, what a coincidence.'

 “Nowhere in particular, why is that?” responded the officer. “You didn’t see my name?” said Zimmerman. The officer then responded, “wow, what a coincidence.” - See more at: http://www.inforney.com/home/local-news/item/1182#sthash.E0GtB5sz.dpuf

Traffic Violation: George Zimmerman was pulled over by police in Forney, Texas, at around midday and was issued a warning for speeding

The officer then inquired if Zimmerman was free of any warrants for arrest, to which Zimmerman replied, 'absolutely'.

'Alright, I’m gonna go back and just check you, routinely,' said the officer as he checked Zimmerman's proof of insurance and a driver’s license.

'The reason you were stopped was for your speed, why don’t you slow down a little bit for me and, as long as you don’t have any warrants, I’ll cut you loose with a warning,' said the officer to Zimmerman according to In Forney.com

'Just take it easy, go ahead and shut your glove compartment and don’t play with your firearm, ok?'

The traffic stop according to InForney.Com lasted approximately five minutes and after being given a warning, Zimmerman was sent on his way - being wished 'a safe trip' by the officer.

In the aftermath of his acquittal Zimmerman's lawyers said that he would almost certainly rearm himself and would be handed back the 9mm Kel-Tec pistol he used to kill Martin.

Federal investigators have not yet returned the weapon.

And even though the fact that Zimmerman is back carrying a weapon will certainly be viewed as controversial, Zimmerman is legally permitted to under Texas state law.
 Cleared: George Zimmerman has been involved in two separate traffic incidents in two different states in the two and a half weeks since he was cleared of the murder and manslaughter of Trayvon Martin

Saved by Zimmerman: The Gerstle family of Dana (left) and Mark (right) stand with their children in a October 2011 photo snapped at a Disney World Halloween party

The gun in the glove box is legal in Texas, and police routinely ask motorists if they have weapons in the car, Brooks said. He said the entire stop lasted less than five minutes.

'It wasn't for super-excessive speeds, they just got him on regular speeding,' said Brian Brooks, city manager of Forney, Texas, about 25 miles southeast of Dallas, where Zimmerman was stopped.

'It's a pretty routine stop except for the fact that it was George Zimmerman.'

Zimmerman, 29, who is white and Hispanic, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter on July 13 in Florida after a racially charged trial in the shooting of Martin in February 2012. Thousands of people demonstrated across the United States after the verdict.

Zimmerman, who was a volunteer neighborhood watchman in the central Florida town of Sanford, Florida at the time of the shooting, said he acted in self-defense.

Scene: The crash occurred at the intersection of I-4 and route Route 46, pictured, less than a mile from where Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin

This is the second highway-related incident involving Zimmerman that has come to the media's attention since his highly controversial acquittal.

Last week it emerged that Zimmerman pulled a couple from their upturned SUV after a crash on a stretch of Florida highway just yards from where he shot and illed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The crash on the 17th July left occurred when Dana and Mark Gerstle lost control of their vehicle on a ramp that left them and their two children, aged eight and four trapped.

Zimmerman did not witness the accident which took place at 5.47pm  but was on the scene shortly afterwards.

Though he spoke with his lawyers last Friday he did not make any mention of the rescue.Speaking to MailOnline Shawn Vincent, a spokesman for Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara said: ‘We spoke with George on Friday and he made no mention of this at all. That’s very typical of George.

‘He has a history of getting involved….it’s just the way he is.

‘There has already been the backlash of people saying this is some sort of PR stunt but it isn’t. We’ve had it confirmed by the Sheriff.’

The heroic rescue took place just four days later, less than a mile from where Zimmerman shot the teen in a gated Sanford community in Seminole County.

Sanford Police Department Capt Jim McAuliffe said that Zimmerman was identified by one of the crash victims as the man who pulled him and his family from the mangled blue Ford Explorer.

Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman, Jr., said in a Wednesday statement: 'Our family receives innumerable death threats on a daily basis. We all continue to take our security and privacy very seriously and go to great lengths to ensure our safety in accordance with the law. '

He went on to accuse the media of speculating and publishing misinformation about the whereabouts of family members that was putting George in particular at risk and called this 'irresponsible and counterproductive.'

George Zimmerman threatened to kill a driver during a road rage incident in Lake Mary and later showed up at the man's workplace, according to police.

[RAW VIDEO: Full video | Lake Mary police body camera | Dash camera]

The road rage incident happened Tuesday, Lake Mary police told Local 6, but the other driver declined to press charges, so Zimmerman was not arrested.

Police said the man, whose name was not released, called police after a truck pulled up next to him and the driver yelled, "Why are you pointing a finger at me?"

The man pulled into the Circle K at 4410 W. Lake Mary Blvd. to call 911, according to police, who added that driver followed him into the parking lot but took off before police arrived.

Police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett said the man recognized the truck driver as Zimmerman. The man said Zimmerman, who was carrying a gun, asked, "Do you know who I am?" before saying, "I'll (f***ing) kill you."

Two days later, the man said he saw Zimmerman in his truck outside his workplace. He called police but declined to press charges.

Zimmerman, 30, was acquitted last year of a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman has had a string of issues since his murder trial, including a domestic violence incident with his estranged wife, visiting a gun manufacturing facility in Brevard County and rescuing a family from an overturned SUV.

Zimmerman was arrested in November 2013 on aggravated assault, battery-domestic violence, and criminal mischief charges in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend, Samantha Schiebe. The charges were later dropped.

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