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Zimmerman to be charged in Trayvon Martin case
April 11, 2012
by CBNews.com
(CBS/AP) CBS News has confirmed that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman will be charged in the February shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
According to a senior aw enforcement official, the special prosecutor in the case, Angela Corey, is expected to announce later Wednesday afternoon that Zimmerman will face state charges. The number or nature of the charges was not immediately known.
17 Photos Fla. Teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer View the Full Gallery »
Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after following the teenager in a Sanford gated community outside Orlando on Feb. 26. He said he was returning to his truck when Martin attacked him and that he shot the unarmed teen during the fight. He was briefly held by police but was not arrested, in part because of Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law.
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The lack of an arrest has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic. Martin was black.
On Tuesday, Zimmerman's attorneys announced they were no longer representing him and that they had not heard from him since Sunday, although he had contacted talk show host Sean Hannity and the special prosecutor.
Earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Justice Department will take appropriate action in the killing of Trayvon Martin if it finds evidence that a federal criminal civil rights crime has been committed.
Holder said the department will conduct a thorough and independent review of the evidence in the Martin matter. One of the department's top priorities, said Holder, is preventing and combating youth violence and victimization.
The Justice Department launched an investigation of the Martin killing three weeks ago.