ORLANDO, Fla., - A Florida man was found guilty on Friday of attempted murder for shooting at George Zimmerman during a roadside confrontation with the ex-neighborhood watch captain widely known for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, local media reported. Matthew Apperson, 37, who according to prosecutors has a history of mental illness, was convicted in a jury trial in the Orlando suburb of Sanford, Florida, according to accounts by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper and 24-hour Orlando television news channel News 13. A Sanford jury in 2013 acquitted Zimmerman, 32, of murder in the fatal 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Martin, a case that helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement and overshadowed both Apperson’s prosecution and his defense. Police initially declined to arrest Zimmerman, citing Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law. In addition to second-degree attempted murder, Apperson was convicted on charges of shooting into an occupied vehicle and aggravated assault with a firearm stemming from his altercation with Zimmerman in Lake Mary, Florida, according to the Sentinel.

Source: Huffington Post September 16, 2016 23:48 UTC