George Zimmerman arrested on assault charge

MIAMI -- Florida authorities said George Zimmerman, whose acquittal for killing an unarmed black teen sparked a national debate on race and self-defense laws, was arrested on charges of suspicion of throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office says the 31-year-old Zimmerman was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault at his home in Lake Mary about 10 p.m. Friday.

Zimmerman was released on a $5,000 bond Saturday. At a court appearance Saturday, he was ordered to avoid contact with the woman, who was not identified.

Judge John Galluzzo gave few details, but said a wine bottle was involved, and the alleged assault occurred at Zimmerman's home. Prosecutors questioned whether substance-abuse treatment was needed, but the judge said that didn't seem to be a factor.

After the hearing, Zimmerman's attorney, Don West, said his client was arrested after allegedly throwing a wine bottle "in the direction of" his girlfriend several days ago.

"No injuries, no contact, nothing that I'm aware of that led up to it. It's just one of those things that somehow brought us here," West said.

Zimmerman was told by the judge to stay out of Volusia County, where the woman lives. The judge ordered Zimmerman to pack up any personal belongings his girlfriend may have left at Zimmerman's home and give them to his lawyer.

Although the allegations didn't involve a firearm, the judge ordered Zimmerman to surrender any weapons out of an abundance of caution.

Zimmerman is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 17.

Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of a second-degree murder charge for shooting an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin.

Since then, Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law:

• He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief after his then-girlfriend said he pointed a gun at her face during an argument, smashed her coffee table and pushed her out of the house they shared. Samantha Scheibe decided not to cooperate with detectives, and prosecutors didn't pursue the case.
• Zimmerman was accused by his estranged wife of smashing an iPad during an argument at the home they had shared. Shellie Zimmerman initially told a dispatcher her husband had a gun, though she later said he was unarmed. No charges were ever filed because of a lack of evidence. The dispute occurred days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers.
• Zimmerman also has been pulled over three times for traffic violations since his acquittal.