The Florida man who shot at George Zimmerman’s vehicle and injured him in May of last year was found guilty Friday of attempted second-degree murder.
The shooter, Matthew Apperson, 37, will be sentenced on Oct. 17. He was also convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and of shooting into a vehicle.
Apperson, who has a history of mental illness according to prosecutors, said he acted in self-defense after seeing Zimmerman, 32, pull a gun.
Zimmerman, who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 while a neighborhood watch volunteer, testified this week with a different story against Apperson.
Zimmerman stated in court that he was chased by a vehicle that then pulled up. The driver exchanged words with Zimmerman and fired a shot that missed.
“I heard a bang and my ears started ringing,” he told the court.
Apperson’s trial began at the Seminole County Courthouse Tuesday.
Apperson previously claimed in Sep. 2014 that Zimmerman threatened him during another road rage incident. His lawyer said Zimmerman instigated the conflict with a gun in both instances.
However, the prosecutor refuted the claim saying Apperson could not have glimpsed a gun through Zimmerman’s vehicle’s tinted windows.
Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, was acquitted in 2013 in Florida of second-degree murder for fatally shooting black teenager Trayvon Martin, a case that launched a national race debate and provoked protests across the country.
