By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner
Dayton Daily News
ORLANDO, Fla. — George Zimmerman told investigators that while he was on the phone with a Sanford police dispatcher reporting Trayvon Martin as suspicious, the teenager was circling his vehicle on foot, a source familiar with the investigation told the Orlando Sentinel.
The source said Zimmerman’s account of events hasn’t changed in his several statements to police — in which he said he was so unnerved by the teenager’s behavior that he rolled up his window to avoid a confrontation. However, he never mentioned any of that while talking to the dispatcher.
The details revealed by the source provide new insight into what Zimmerman said happened in the earliest moments of his contact with Martin. And they may reveal the inconsistencies alluded to by prosecutors in the case.
One of those inconsistencies: Zimmerman told police that Martin had his hand over Zimmerman’s mouth during their fight on the night he shot Martin.
The Sentinel’s source confirmed that Zimmerman’s statements include that allegation. But authorities do not believe that happened, the source told the Sentinel, because on one 911 call, someone can be heard screaming for help. If it were Zimmerman, as he claims, his cries were not muffled, the source said.
Zimmerman also told police, the source told the Sentinel, that while the two were on the ground, Martin reached for Zimmerman’s gun, and the two struggled over it.
Those portions of Zimmerman’s account are not corroborated by other evidence, the source said.
Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said he hasn’t yet seen his client’s statements to police, and it would be inappropriate for him to address evidence in the case.
Spokesman Sgt. David Morgenstern said the Sanford Police Department “cannot make any comments on anything related to the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case.”
Copyright 2012 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.