George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot an unarmed teenager, was released from jail about midnight Sunday, two days after a Florida judge set his bond at $150,000.
Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said in court Friday that Zimmerman would probably continue to live in hiding while he awaited his trial date, as he had done for weeks leading up to his April 11 arrest on second-degree murder charges in the slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
An initial decision by police and prosecutors in Sanford, Fla., to decline to arrest Zimmerman after his fatal Feb. 26 encounter with Martin, an African American, set off protests and debate nationwide over perceived racial disparities in the justice system. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is a Latina from Peru.
Prosecutors had asked for $1 million bail, citing two previous scrapes Zimmerman had with the law, neither of which resulted in charges. In 2005, he had to take anger management courses after he was accused of attacking an undercover officer who was trying to arrest Zimmerman's friend. In another incident, a girlfriend accused him of attacking her.
Zimmerman surprised the courtroom at his bond hearing Friday -- especially Trayvon Martin's parents -- when he walked to the stand during his bond hearing in shackles to apologize for shooting the unarmed teenager.
"I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," Zimmerman stated. "I didn't know his age. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. I did not know whether he was armed or not."
Martin's parents left the hearing without comment, unhappy with Zimmerman's bond and with his apology.
Zimmerman, 28, fatally shot Martin, 17, Feb. 26 inside the gated community where Zimmerman lived during an altercation. Martin was unarmed and was walking back to the home of his father's fiancDee when Zimmerman saw him, called 911 and began following him. A fight broke out -- investigators say it is unknown who started it.
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