O'Mara: Zimmerman concerned for wife’s safety

The attorney for George Zimmerman says the former neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin is concerned for the safety of his wife, after her arrest for lying to the judge about the couple's finances during a bond hearing.

WFTV talked to Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, as he left a late night meeting with a client on Tuesday.

There have already been threats against George and even his attorney O'Mara, so now they are both concerned that Shellie is in the spotlight and out on bond.

The 25-year-old Shellie Zimmerman was arrested because investigators from special prosecutor Angela Corey's office issued an arrest warrant, charging her with one count of perjury.

They said she lied under oath at her George's original bond hearing in April about how much money the couple had to pay his bond.

She was arrested on Tuesday but has since bonded out of jail.

O'Mara is angry because he asked prosecutors to tell him about the arrest first, but he did not hear until after Shellie posted a $1,000 bond.

"You know, I am just disappointed at the state that they did not feel the need to at least offer me that professional courtesy," said O'Mara.

In the warrant, state prosecutors wrote that Shellie Zimmerman not only knew how much money was in her husband's PayPal account, which he set up to pay for his defense, but that she also transferred more than $74,000 from his account to hers before the bond hearing.

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer is not surprised prosecutors went after her.

"(I'm) not surprised," said Sheaffer. "You can't perpetrate this kind of fraud on the court and expect there's not going to be consequences."

"This is too high-profile of a case to let someone get away with lying to the court," said Sheaffer.

George Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting. He was granted $150,000 bond at that hearing and released.

The alleged lies that got George Zimmerman's wife arrested also got his bond revoked earlier this month. State attorneys argued that both Zimmerman and his wife had lied to the judge about their finances, especially about money raised from a website.

In his written order, Judge Kenneth Lester called the evidence against Zimmerman strong.

He also said he considered Zimmerman's prior record that included a pre-trial diversion, as well as a past domestic violence injunction.

The judge said Zimmerman's failure to disclose the thousands he raised for his defense online, "demonstrated that he does not properly respect the law or the integrity of the judicial process."

O'Mara will not defend Shellie Zimmerman because it would be a conflict of interest. There's no word from prosecutors if George will also be charged with perjury.

Sheaffer said he believes Shellie Zimmerman could face up to five years in prison if convicted.