Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Shellie Zimmerman to skip arraignment after not guilty plea

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images

Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, the man accused of shooting Trayvon Martin, is seen in a police mug shot June 12, 2012 in Sanford, Fla.

By NBC News staff

Shellie Zimmerman will not appear at her scheduled arraignment Tuesday after pleading not guilty to perjury for allegedly lying about the family's finances, a court official told WPTV.com.

Shellie, the wife of George Zimmerman, was arrested June 12 on one count of perjury.

"Neither Ms. Zimmerman or her attorney are required to attend the arraignment," Seminole County, Fla., court spokeswoman Michelle Kennedy told WPTV. "Ms. Zimmerman's name will remain on the docket, but her case will not be called."

Shellie Zimmerman's lawyer, Kelly Sims, entered a written not guilty plea last week, along with a waiver for her client not to personally attend her arraignment.

George Zimmerman, 28, was charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin. He pleaded not guilty, and claims that he acted in self-defense.


His $150,000 bond was revoked after it was alleged that he and Shellie Zimmerman misled the court about their finances, neglecting to disclose they had raised at least $135,000 in a PayPal account.

Florida prosecutors said George Zimmerman, speaking by phone from jail, gave detailed instructions to his wife to conduct a series of money transfers and transactions in allegedly coded exchanges that were intended to hide from the court how much money had been raised to help pay for his legal defense.

Zimmerman spoke to wife in code from jail to hide assets, prosecutors allege

Prosecutors released six recorded calls Zimmerman made from April 12 through April 17 while he was in Seminole County Jail. In the calls,?he gave his wife Shellie detailed instructions to change passwords and answer security questions for the accounts, allowing her to move money.?He then instructed her to move the money in a series of transactions carried out over days.

At George Zimmerman's April 20 bond hearing, when asked whether the couple had financial means to assist in his defense, Shellie Zimmerman said: "Uhm, not -- not that I'm aware of," according to an affidavit.

NBC News' Jamie Novograd and Kari Huus contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/31/13050342-george-zimmermans-wife-will-not-be-at-arraignment-after-not-guilty-plea?lite

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