Not so fast reaching for that gun, George.
Lawyers for George Zimmerman have said that he can’t wait to get his Kel-Tec PF-9 handgun back, but now Florida cops say he’ll have to wait — at least until the feds say it’s OK to return it.
The FBI has ordered that all evidence from the Trayvon Martin murder trial remain in custody while the Justice Department investigates possible civil-rights charges, the Orlando Sentinel newspaper reported yesterday.
That includes Zimmerman’s gun and several items belonging to the 17-year-old Martin, including his now-iconic black hoodie, his cellphone and the bag of Skittles he had just bought from a nearby 7-Eleven in Sanford, Fla.
But Zimmerman is not barred from owning a gun now that he’s been acquitted — and, in fact, a Florida gun shop has offered him a free replacement Kel-Tec.
“We currently have the same model in stock,” a Volusia County gun shop told Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara, the Web site ClickOrlando.com reported yesterday.
“Or he could [choose] another weapon suitable for concealed carry,” said the shop, Pompano Pats.
Meanwhile, a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office report revealed that during their 22-night stay at the Marriot hotel in Lake Mary, Fla., jurors racked up $33,000 in expenses, including hotel bills, food and such leisure-time entertainment as a trip to St. Augustine, where they visited the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.
There was also a shopping excursion to a Daytona Beach mall and nights out bowling.
They also found time for pampering, getting manicures and pedicures and hitting up the hotel’s fitness center.
But it wasn’t all fun. Their use of TV, the Internet, “reading materials” and cellphones was monitored “to ensure jurors were not exposed to any trial information,” the report said.
And the court had to approve the movies they watched, “World War Z” and “The Lone Ranger.”
Also yesterday, Martin’s parents broke their silence on TV morning news shows to denounce Zimmerman’s not-guilty verdict.
Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mom, told ABC she was “stunned” and felt “disgust” with the failure to convict Zimmerman of any charges.
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Tracy Martin said, “Obviously, race played some type of role” in his son’s death. “Was he racially profiled? I think that, if Trayvon had been white, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said on NBC’s “Today” show.
Fulton told CBS she’ll attend a protest rally with the Rev. Al Sharpton outside New York City Police Headquarters tomorrow. Tracy Martin is set to attend a similar event at a federal courthouse in Miami.