SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – A pit bull named Big Boi began menacing George and Shellie Zimmerman in the fall of 2009.

The first time the dog ran free and cornered Shellie in their gated community in Sanford, Florida, George called the owner to complain. The second time, Big Boi frightened his mother-in-law’s dog. Zimmerman called Seminole County Animal Services and bought pepper spray. The third time he saw the dog on the loose, he called again. An officer came to the house, county records show.

“Don’t use pepper spray,” he told the Zimmermans, according to a friend. “It’ll take two or three seconds to take effect, but a quarter second for the dog to jump you,” he said.

“Get a gun.”

That November, the Zimmermans completed firearms training at a local lodge and received concealed-weapons gun permits. In early December, another source close to them told Reuters, the couple bought a pair of guns. George picked a Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm handgun, a popular, lightweight weapon.

By June 2011, Zimmerman’s attention had shifted from a loose pit bull to a wave of robberies that rattled the community, called the Retreat at Twin Lakes. The homeowners association asked him to launch a neighborhood watch, and Zimmerman would begin to carry the Kel-Tec on his regular, dog-walking patrol – a violation of neighborhood watch guidelines but not a crime.

Few of his closest neighbors knew he carried a gun – until two months ago.

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – George Zimmerman offered a surprise apology on Friday to the family of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager he shot dead in a Florida suburb, and a judge ordered Zimmerman freed on $150,000 bail pending trial on second-degree murder charges.

The parents of Martin, 17, were outraged that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was allowed to make what they considered a self-serving apology from the witness stand, their lawyer said.

Zimmerman’s release from Seminole County Jail could take days as prosecutors and defense lawyers work out agreements on how to protect his privacy. They also must decide whether he will be allowed outside Florida while charged with second-degree murder for killing Martin on February 26 in a case that sparked racial debate across the United States.

“I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son,” Zimmerman, 28, told Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, briefly looking in their direction from the witness stand.

“I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not,” said Zimmerman, who was dressed in a suit but still shackled around the waist and wrists.

Trayvon Martin’s parents, who divorced in 1999, left the court stone-faced and with arms locked, declining to answer questions from reporters.

Zimmerman’s dramatic comments drew sharp criticism from the lawyers for Martin’s family, who called it too late to be considered genuine.

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – George Zimmerman apologized to the family of the black Florida teenager he shot dead in a surprise witness stand appearance on Friday and moments later a judge agreed he could be released on $150,000 bail in the racially charged case that has captivated the United States.

“I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son,” Zimmerman, dressed in a suit but still shackled around the waist and wrists, told the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, who were in the Sanford, Florida, court.

“I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not,” said Zimmerman, 28, the son of a white father and a Peruvian mother.

Moments later, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. set bail of $150,000. Zimmerman’s defense lawyer had requested bail of no more than $15,000 and prosecutors, who had opposed his release, suggested bail of $1 million.

Trayvon Martin’s parents, who divorced in 1999, left the court stone-faced and with arms locked, declining to answer questions from reporters.

“They are devastated” by the bail, family attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters, adding that Tracy Martin had tears in his eyes throughout the hearing.

“And it was devastating that he got to give a self-serving apology to help him get a bond,” Crump said. “They (the parents) were very outraged at that.”

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – Neighbors of George Zimmerman say he had bandages on his nose and head the day after he shot dead Trayvon Martin, supporting statements by the neighborhood watch volunteer that he was beaten in a confrontation with the black Florida teenager.

The extent of Zimmerman’s injuries could be crucial to his legal defense under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law, which allows the use of deadly force when someone has the reasonable belief he could face death or great bodily harm.

Police said Zimmerman, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the racially charged case, was bleeding from the nose and the back of his head and was treated by medics before being taken to Sanford police station after the February 26 shooting.

But public doubts were later raised by the release of a grainy surveillance video from the police station in which no injuries were readily visible.

Zimmerman later sought medical treatment for injuries including a broken nose, his former lawyers have said.

Jorge Rodriguez, Zimmerman’s next-door neighbor, told Reuters that when he saw Zimmerman the day after the incident, “he had two big, butterfly bandages on the back of his head, and another big bandage…on the bridge of his nose.” He was talking to a police detective in his driveway.

Rodriguez’s wife Audria also said she saw the bandages and a third neighbor, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, agreed with the Rodriguez couple’s account. “I saw two bandages on the back of his head, and his nose was all swollen up,” said the witness, who had watched from a nearby second-floor window.

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – A handcuffed George Zimmerman, charged with killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, appeared in court for the first time on Thursday and his lawyer said a not guilty plea was entered on his “frightened” client’s behalf.

The neighborhood watch volunteer’s lawyer, Mark O’Mara, also said he wanted Zimmerman to be released on bond, but not until he could secure a safe place for him to stay while he faces murder charges in the February 26 killing of 17-year-old Martin in a quiet gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford.

Zimmerman, hands shackled, head shaved and wearing a close-clipped goatee, addressed a judge via teleconference from the John E. Polk Correctional Facility. He said “Yes sir” twice during the five-minute hearing in a small jailhouse courtroom.

Judge Mark Herr set formal arraignment for May 29 and agreed to seal some of the case file.

“It was a very standard procedure. A not guilty plea was entered. We have an arraignment set for the 29th. We’ll attend to a bond motion between now and then,” O’Mara told reporters after the hearing.

He said he chose not to ask for bail immediately because it might “only arouse the fervor” around the case.

Zimmerman, 28, whose father is white and mother Hispanic, has received death threats and was in hiding for weeks. Arrested Wednesday, he could face life in prison if convicted.

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, faces his first appearance before a Florida judge on Thursday where his lawyer said he will try to get the crime watch volunteer’s release from jail.

The hearing, currently set for 1:30 p.m. EDT, will be the first appearance by Zimmerman, 28, since he became a national and highly divisive figure by shooting and killing Martin, 17, in a quiet gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford.

The incident has set off a firestorm of debate about race relations and self-defence laws, punctuated by a series of demonstrations across the country. Even President Barack Obama commented on the case, saying, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.”

Mark O’Mara, the Orlando criminal defence attorney Zimmerman hired Wednesday afternoon after his first defence team dropped him as a client the previous day, said it was not immediately clear whether bail would be discussed during Zimmerman’s initial appearance before a judge.

“I’m hoping the court will consider a bond motion,” O’Mara said on CBS’ “This Morning” show. “It may or may not. If not we’ll have a bond motion shortly thereafter. I hope to get him out. I need him out for my purposes to help me in preparing his defence.”

Arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday, Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, will not appear physically at the court for the hearing, local courthouse officials said. He will appear before the judge over closed-circuit TV from the jail immediately next door, where he is being held in protective custody.

At a later date when he is arraigned, Zimmerman will plead not guilty, O’Mara said Wednesday. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, could appear in a Florida courtroom on Thursday when his lawyer will seek to have the crime watch volunteer released on bail.

It would be the first public appearance by Zimmerman, 28, since he became a national and highly divisive figure by shooting and killing Martin, 17, in a quiet gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford.

The incident has set off a firestorm of debate about race relations and self-defense laws, punctuated by a series of demonstrations across the country. Even President Barack Obama commented on the case, saying, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.”

Arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday, Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, was expected by his lawyer to appear in Seminole County Court for a hearing in which a judge will inform him of the charge and determine whether to set bail and in what amount.

“I hope he’ll get a bond,” Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said on Wednesday. “It’s out of my hands and up to a judge.” O’Mara said he hoped a judge would set bail at a level the Zimmerman family could afford.

The hearing would deal primarily with bail issue. At a later date when he is arraigned, Zimmerman will plead not guilty, O’Mara said. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

If Zimmerman were released, it is unclear where he could safely live. He has been subjected to death threats and was in hiding from the public for weeks.

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – Some residents of the Florida city where unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin was shot to death responded with relief on Wednesday to the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer responsible for the shooting.

The February 26 killing of Martin, 17, by a white and Hispanic man has fueled national protests and cries of racism and focused scrutiny on Sanford, a city of 53,000 people that is dotted with Victorian-era cottages, brick office buildings and gated communities.

George Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder for shooting Martin in a gated community. Zimmerman’s lawyer said that his client, who told police that he had acted in self-defense, would plead not guilty.

“Certainly getting to this point, now that there has been an indictment, does put a different spin on things,” Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte told reporters.

Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, who is white, made an appeal for calm and spoke of a “path toward healing” in the wake of the arrest.

“There is a little bit of relief,” Triplett said. “This is an event that touched many hearts and many lives, and started conversations, but we hope that the atmosphere of civility will continue.”

On the streets of the central Florida city, some celebrated Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey’s announcement of the arrest and charge.