Explanations key at Zimmerman bond hearing

ORLANDO, Fla. – The neighborhood watch leader charged with killing Trayvon Martin will have a lot of explaining to do when he asks a judge to release him on bond today.

The last time George Zimmerman asked for bond, he and his wife misled the judge about how much money they had. Prosecutors seized on the deception in the days after that April hearing and persuaded a judge to put Zimmerman back behind bars.

Today, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester is giving Zimmerman another chance to be set free.

“If his explanation is really weak ... I think Lester could keep him in jail,” said Randy McClean, an Orlando-area defense attorney who is following the case. “If he really comes across as being genuine and has a reasonable explanation, because I don’t see how it could be a great explanation, then I think Lester will probably pump up the conditions, up his monetary conditions and let him back on bond.”

Lester revoked Zimmerman’s $150,000 bond this month after prosecutors told the judge a website Zimmerman created for his legal defense had raised $135,000 at the time of his first bond hearing. Zimmerman and his wife did not mention the money then, and Shellie Zimmerman even said the couple had limited resources because she was a student and wasn’t working.

Prosecutors also said the couple talked in code during recorded jailhouse conversations about how to transfer the donations to different bank accounts.