Judge Sets $1M Bail For George Zimmerman

A Florida judge on Thursday set a $1 million bail for George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer who is charged with killing Trayvon Martin, ruling that a higher bond was needed because of a concerns that the defendant has flaunted the system (sic) and could be a flight risk.

Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester ordered that Zimmerman remain in Florida's Seminole county and submit to electronic monitoring at his own expense, according to multiple media reports. Zimmerman would be required to put up 10 percent of the bond -- $100,000 -- to be freed.

Lester had revoked the defendant's initial $150,000 bail last month after prosecutors alleged both Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie Zimmerman, misled the court about their financial situation during an April bond hearing. The couple failed to report approximately $135,000 in donations they had received, up to that point, through a legal defense website created for Zimmerman, an omission that ultimately put him back behind bars.

According to his bond order, Zimmerman cannot leave Seminole county without prior authorization from the court, must check in with authorities every 48 hours, and cannot enter property owned by the Orlando-Sanford International Airport. In addition, the defendant cannot open a bank account, has a daily curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and may not apply for a passport or drink alcohol, the Associated Press reports.

Under any definition, the defendant has flaunted the system, the judge wrote. Counsel has attempted to portray the defendant as being a confused young man who was fearful and experienced a moment of weakness and who may have also have acted out of a sense of 'betrayal' by the system. Based upon all the evidence presented, this court finds the opposite. The defendant tried to manipulate the system when he has been presented the opportunity to do so.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the February shooting death of the 17-year-old Martin. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and claimed the shooting was a move of self-defense, protected under Florida's controversial stand your ground law.