George Zimmerman will not be charged in the domestic violence case involving his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe.
Scheibe called 911 in November, saying that Zimmerman had pointed a gun at her, trashed her home, and that she was afraid of him. He was subsequently arrested and later released on $9,000 bond on the condition that he stay away from Scheibe–who is reportedly pregnant–and that he wear a monitoring device. He also had to give up all weapons and ammunition.
Earlier this week, Scheibe released a statement saying she didn’t want to pursue charges and that she wanted to be with Zimmerman, and because of her conflicting statements and refusal to cooperate, prosecutors have decided to drop the case.
“Upon reviewing the recent affidavit of the Ms. Scheibe and taking into account the conflicting statements about what occurred, the failure to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, and a lack of any other corroborating evidence or witnesses, there is no reasonable likelihood of successful prosecution,” State Attorney Phil Archer said. “The state has a burden in every criminal case of being able to prove all the elements of a crime beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt before filing charges. The facts and evidence of this case do not meet that burden.”
Scheibe said in a sworn statement that she felt the responding officers might have misinterpreted her words, and retracted the statement she made during the 911 call that he’d pointed a gun at her.
“I want to be with George,” Scheibe said in the statement. “I do not want George Zimmerman charged. I make this decision freely, knowingly and voluntarily, without any intimidation coercion or undue influences. I believe that the police misinterpreted me and that I may have misspoken about certain facts in my statement to the police… George never pointed a gun at or toward my face in a threatening manner. Further, I request that the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office not be allowed to harass me because I do not wish to take part in any prosecution of this case on behalf of the State.”
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