The circus that is the George Zimmerman trial provided even more entertainment Wednesday with some unexpected visitors popping up in the middle of a testimony.
While Seminole State College Professor Dr. Gordon Pleasants was called via Skype to testify in the trial, news networks failed to block out his Skype username and lawyers forgot to have him make his Skype status “invisible,” leading to a bevy of requests for video calls and interruptions while he attempted to answer questions.
It took no more than 45 seconds for the first call to the professor to come through. Video call requests coming mostly from “salman talpur” and “Marcus” proceeded to drown out what the criminal justice professor was saying as the barrage of pings from the incoming calls dominated his testimony.
“There’s now a really good chance we’re being toyed with,” Zimmerman’s defense attorney Mark O’Mara said.
As Pleasants attempted to decline calls and continue his testimony, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson eventually asked for the Skype call to be shut down and for questioning to be completed via landline. He continued on with his testimony without any further interruptions, telling the courtroom Zimmerman was a student of his while he taught an online criminal investigation course in 2011.
Zimmerman, who is on trial for shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, apparently attended Pleasants’ voluntary lectures and planned to pursue a career in law.
Zimmerman’s highly publicized trial has had no shortage of “jokes” thus far. During opening statements, Zimmerman’s defense attorney, Don West, attempted to tell the jury a knock-knock joke.
Watch Pleasants’ failed Skype interview below:
