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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
CRIME
Zimmerman avoids public after posting bail
ASSOCIATED PRESS
George Zimmerman, left, walks out of the intake building at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility with a bondsman on Sunday in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman posted bail on a $150,000 bond on a second degree murder charge in the February shooting death of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin In Sanford, Fla.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. — George Zimmerman, who slipped out of jail on $150,000 bail in the early morning darkness, went back into hiding Monday and likely fled to another state to avoid threats as he awaits his second-degree murder trial for the killing of Travyon Martin.
Even though authorities can pinpoint his location with a GPS ankle bracelet Zimmerman must wear 24-7, the public may not see him again for some time. Zimmerman has waived his appearance at his upcoming arraignment next month, so he can stay underground if he wants.
Zimmerman already has experience laying low: For more than a month before his arrest, he eluded the media and his whereabouts were not known. His attorney has suggested he had several options for where Zimmerman can stay this time, and a judge indicated he was willing to let Zimmerman leave the state.
Until the next time he must come before a judge, Zimmerman will have to skip such routine pleasures as eating in a restaurant or taking a long stroll outside, said Jose Baez, a former attorney for Casey Anthony. Anthony, acquitted last summer of killing her 2-year-old daughter, went into hiding after her release from jail.
"He may be free, but he's not free," Baez said.
First, Zimmerman must limit who knows his whereabouts to avoid the risk someone will give the secret away, Baez said.
"Unfortunately, the people you think you trust, sometimes you find you just really can't," Baez said.
To throw off curious onlookers and the media, Zimmerman could change his look. Anthony went from a long-haired brunette to a bobbed blonde while serving a year of probation on an unrelated charge at an undisclosed location in Florida.
Next, Zimmerman needs to go someplace where he knows few people and they don't know him, said Evan Ratliff, who wrote the book (or at least the magazine article) on how to vanish in the 21st century. In 2009, Wired magazine challenged its readers to try to find Ratliff, who deliberately vanished with the help of disguises, prepaid phones, fake business cards and software that protected his Internet identity, at least for a while. Ratliff eventually was caught because readers were able to trace him through the IP address of a computer he had used.
"He needs to be where he is not around people who are known to be close to him." Ratliff said. "Not a friend's house. Not a relative's house."
Zimmerman needs to refrain from making any public statements, whether via social media
sites like Facebook or Twitter or his own website. www.thealgeorgezimmerman.com, both Baez and Ratliff said. Zimmerman is using his website to help raise money for his legal defense.
Early indications are that will be tough for Zimmerman to resist. After a judge agreed to release him on bond, a statement placed on his website said, "GZ hopes to be able to update the site in the next day or two, God willing. He sends his thanks for your thoughts and support."
Martin's parents have a "heavy heart" now that Zimmerman has been released from jail, said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the 17-year-old's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton.
"They hope his freedom is temporary because the pain he has caused this family is permanent," Crump said Monday.
As a condition of his release, Zimmerman cannot have any guns and must observe a 7 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew. He surrendered his passport and will have to contact his monitors every three days.
Given his success at eluding searchers before his arrest, Baez said he is confident Zimmerman will keep out of public view.
"Based on his prior actions, he seems to be a very careful guy," Baez said. "Based on his prior ability to lay low, he will be fine. He is going to do exactly what is required of him."
WEATHER
Thousands without power after snowstorm hits Northeast
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A noreaster packing soaking rain and spring-time snow churned up the Northeast on Monday, unleashing a burst of winter, closing some schools and triggering power outages in communities that were basking in record warmth a month ago.
The earliest hits were on higher ground, where snow-laden tree limbs pulled down power lines and commuters navigated slushy roads. Up to a foot of snow or more was forecast for higher elevations through Tuesday morning.
Amy Shaulis, a waitress at the Summit Diner in Somerset, Pa., wondered if the storm was a bit of payback.
At the peak Monday, utilities reported about 50,000 customers without power in Pennsylvania and central and western New York.
"We had a very,very light winter, we had summer in the middle of winter and now we're paying for it," she said.
Gov. Tom Corbett declared a disaster emergency and activated the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency's state operations center. By early afternoon, electricity had been restored to about 8,000 of the 25,000 customers who had been without power in the state and predictions of heavy snow in Pittsburgh melted away as the temperature remained well above freezing.
Buffalo, where an alternating mix of rain and wet snow fell throughout the day but did not accumulate on the roads or trees as expected.
It was a similar situation in
The National Weather Service canceled its winter storm warning for the Buffalo area and counties to the north and east in New York and a winter weather advisory for Allegheny and Washington counties in Pennsylvania.
A warning remained in effect through Tuesday for several counties along the New York-Pennsylvania border, where up to a foot of snow was still possible.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kevin Fitzgerald, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College, Pa., called the snowstorm "unusual, but not unheard of."
Snow blankets the trees and a road in Jackson Township, Pa., Monday. A spring nor'easter packing soaking rain and high winds churned up the Northeast Monday morning, unleashing a burst of winter and up to a foot of snow in higher elevations inland, closing some schools and sparking concerns of power outages.
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