Orlando attorney represents family of slain black teen
O’Mara helped Zimmerman get acquitted in 2012
Mark O’Mara, the Orlando attorney who helped George Zimmerman get acquitted of murder for the 2012 fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, is now representing the family of a black teen who was killed this week in a shooting that Sanford police have called justified.
O’Mara confirmed Friday afternoon that he is representing the family of 17-year-old Adrien Green, who was fatally shot Tuesday morning in a Sanford neighborhood by a homeowner who said he fired twice from his front door after seeing someone on his property in the middle of the night.
O’Mara said that he is working with Adrein’s family to “try to figure out what happened” and “why there aren’t charges being filed.” He said officials “seem to be stretch- ing” to find a reason not to bring charges against the shooter.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith and Seminole County Assistant State Attorney Dan Faggard said their initial investigation found that the homeowner, who has not been identified, was justified in shooting at the teen because Adrein was attempting to burglarize a vehicle on the man’s property, which is an extension of his home.
Florida law says that a person is justified in using deadly force to prevent “the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”
Adrein was found with a gunshot wound to his back just outside the Garrison Drive home just after 1 a.m. Officials said they found a rock and a car battery near the homeowner’s vehicle, as well as marks on the window consistent with an attempted burglary.
The case has similarities to the Feb. 26, 2012 shooting — both involve a 17-year-old black boy fatally shot in a Sanford neighborhood by an adult — but with O’Mara this time representing the family of the deceased, rather than the shooter.
There are also differences: Zimmerman said he fired at Trayvon after the teenager attacked him and was atop him, delivering a beating. Trayvon was shot in the chest. And the killing in that case occurred on communal property, rather than at the shooter’s home.
Trayvon had been walking back to his father’s townhome in The Retreat at Twin Lakes community from a nearby 7-Eleven when Zimmerman, who was driving, saw him and called police to report him as suspicious. Zimmerman then exited his vehicle and followed Trayvon.
Zimmerman was questioned by not initially arrested in the shooting. Police cited his self-defense claim and Florida’s “stand your ground” law as precluding them from arresting him. Amid an uproar, a special prosecutor indicted Zimmerman on second-degree murder.
At trial, prosecutors argued he profiled, pursued and killed the unarmed teen. Zimmerman’s attorneys said Trayvon jumped him in the dark and he fired his weapon in a fight for his life.
He was acquitted July 13, 2013.
The shooting and subsequent trial for Zimmerman drew worldwide attention, and helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement and protests around the nation calling for racial justice.