SANFORD Prosecutors in the George Zimmerman trial will continue calling witness today hoping to convince jurors Zimmerman is guilty of second degree murder in 17 year old Trayvon Martin's shooting.
Attorneys in the case will return to court at 8 30 a.m. today.
The six jurors and four alternates seated last week heard opening arguments Monday and then testimony began Jurors heard from a police dispatcher a 7 Eleven clerk and a teenager who was with Trayvon the day he was killed.
The state called a fourth witness but her testimony stalled when the defense objected to jurors hearing Zimmerman's calls to police to report suspicious people in the months before the Feb. 26 2012 shooting.
Prosecutors argue those calls demonstrate Zimmerman's state of mind when he reported Trayvon as suspicious minuted before he shot the teen. The defense says the past calls are irrelevant.
Argument will continue on that today in court.
Prosecutor John Guy began his opening statement Monday with profanity F ing punks words he said Zimmerman used under his breath during his non emergency call to report Trayvon to police before the shooting.
When Zimmerman saw Trayvon the prosecutor said he profiled him as someone who was about to commit a crime in his neighborhood and then he acted on it and that's why we're here.
After Guy's brief emotional opening defense attorney Don West put on a lengthy methodical statement. Zimmerman West told jurors shot Trayvon Martin in self defense after being viciously attacked.
West into a detailed chronological breakdown of Zimmerman's call to Sanford police which the jurors heard multiple times Monday. It was Trayvon who confronted Zimmerman not the other way around West said.
The trial will be closely watched across the nation. When Sanford police didn't arrest Zimmerman after the shooting citing his self defense claim it prompted widespread civil rights protests in Sanford and across the globe.
Zimmerman 29 was later charged by a special prosecutor. He faces up to life in prison if convicted as charged.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates and visit OrlandoSentinel.com for a live video stream and chat.
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