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Friday, April 13, 2012 – Daily News 7A Prosecutors: Zimmerman ignored warning to back off SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — After weeks in hiding, George Zimmerman made his first courtroom appear- ance Thursday in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and pros- ecutors outlined their mur- der case in court papers, saying the neighborhood watch volunteer followed and confronted the black teenager after a police dis- patcher told him to back off. The brief outline, con- tained in an affidavit filed in support of the second- degree murder charges, appeared to contradict Zimmerman's claim that Martin attacked him after he had turned away and was returning to his vehi- cle. The account of the shooting was released as Zimmerman, 28, appeared at a four-minute hearing in a jailhouse courtroom, set- ting in motion what could be a long, drawn-out process, or an abrupt and disappointingly short one for the Martin family because of the strong legal protections contained in Florida's ''stand your ground'' law on self- defense. In the affidavit, prosecu- tors also said that Martin's mother identified cries for help heard in the back- ground of a 911 call as her son's. There had been some question as to whether Martin or Zimmerman was the one crying out. ★★ ★ During the hearing, Zimmerman stood up straight, held his head high and wore a gray jail jump- suit. He spoke only to answer ''Yes, sir'' twice after he was asked basic questions from the judge, who was not in the court- room but on closed-circuit TV. The defendant's hair was shaved down to stub- ble and he had a thin goa- tee. His hands were shack- led in front of him. 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To prove second-degree The special prosecutor in the case, Angela Corey, has refused to explain exactly how she arrived at the charge. But in the affi- davit, prosecutors said Zimmerman spotted Mar- tin while patrolling his gated community, got out of his vehicle and followed the young man. Prosecutors interviewed a friend of Martin's who was talking to him over the phone moments before the shooting. His parents' lawyer has said that Martin was talking to his girlfriend back in Miami. ''During this time, Mar- tin was on the phone with a friend and described to her what was happening,'' the affidavit said. ''The witness advised that Martin was scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn't know why.'' During a recorded call to a police dispatcher, Zim- merman ''made reference to people he felt had com- mitted and gotten away with break-ins in his neigh- borhood. Later while talk- ing about Martin, Zimmer- man stated 'these a——— s, they always get away' and also said 'these f——- g punks,' said the affidavit, available at http://apne.ws/Itn7Nu . It continued: ''When the police dispatcher real- ized Zimmerman was pur- suing Martin, he instructed Zimmerman not to do that and that the responding officer would meet him. Zimmerman disregarded the police dispatcher and continued to follow Martin who was trying to return to his home.'' ''Zimmerman confront- ed Martin and a struggle ensued,'' prosecutors said in their account. The account provided no details on the struggle other than to say that wit- nesses heard numerous calls for help and that Mar- tin's mother reviewed the 911 recordings and recog- nized her son's cry. Zimmerman told authorities that Martin attacked him as he going back to his vehicle, punched him in the face, FINAL DAYS! EVERYTHING MUST GO knocked him down and began slamming head against the sidewalk. At Thursday's hearing, the case was assigned to Circuit Judge Jessica Reck- siedler, a 39-year-old for- mer assistant state attorney from Sanford who was elected to the bench in 2010. Zimmerman is being held without bail at the county jail. For all the relief among civil rights activists over the arrest, legal experts warned there is a real chance it could get thrown out before it ever goes to trial because of Florida's ''stand your ground'' law, which gives people a broad right to use deadly force without having to retreat from a fight. 91