NEW YORK (AA) – A Florida man is facing at least 20 years in prison after being found guilty Friday of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting that involved George Zimmerman, who killed an unarmed black teenager in 2012.
Matthew Apperson, 37, was convicted by a Seminole County jury of attempted second-degree murder for firing a single gunshot into Zimmerman’s truck during a roadside confrontation in May 2015, according to media reports.
He was also convicted on charges of shooting into an occupied vehicle and aggravated assault with a firearm.
A Florida statute law dubbed 10-20-life stipulates that any crime during which a firearm, or weapon is fired automatically results in a sentence of at least 20 years in prison.
The paralegal defended himself by saying he acted in self-defense after Zimmerman first flashed a gun. The bullet missed the former neighborhood watchman’s face and hit the truck’s metal frame.
Zimmerman, 32, shot and killed 17-year-old Travyon Martin in 2012, sparking nationwide protest that birthed the Black Lives Matter movement.
A jury in Florida acquitted Zimmerman of all charges a year later.
On cross examination, Apperson’s attorney forced Zimmerman to acknowledge that he had sold the gun he used to shoot Martin for $250,000 and he considers Black Lives Matter activists to be “terrorists”.
