Was Martin's hand holding the barrel of Zimmerman's gun when it fired? Jeralyn Merritt speculates there may be a defense claim that the gun fired accidentally during a struggle for it. Speculation at this point, but .... :
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He still hasn't seen the discovery but (and this is speculation on my part) he sounds like he is already contemplating a defense other than self-defense. What could that be? That Trayvon tried to grab the gun and it went off accidentally?
Accidental discharge of a firearm in Florida is a misdemeanor. Just April 13, Gov. Scott signed into law an amendment of 790.062. It adds a new situation.
[One who] recklessly or negligently discharges a firearm outdoors on any property used primarily as the site of a dwelling as defined in s. 776.013 or zoned exclusively for residential use commits is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Zimmerman, according to the police report, had a Kel-Tec PF9. According to statements by police, there was still a full magazine in it, meaning after the bullet in the chamber had fired, striking Trayvon, the gun failed to cycle and send a bullet from the magazine to the chamber. This could be caused, according to some gun experts, by someone placing their hand on the gun.
This sounds like evidence for a struggle for the gun going on when it was fired. We don't know the details of what Zimmerman told the police. We'll see if and when the story comes out.
It has been reported that the gun was recovered with a full magazine and that only the chambered round had been fired. This is a condition we associate with something preventing the gun from cycling a fresh round from the magazine into the chamber after the shot was discharged. One thing that can cause that is another man’s hand wrapped around the pistol, retarding its slide mechanism. This would indicate, as could certain gunshot residue patterns or cuts in certain places if found on Trayvon Martin’s hand(s), that a struggle for a gun was taking place when the fatal shot was fired.
Is it possible that this shooting was the product of an accidental discharge that occurred during a struggle for the gun? And how would this new amendment to the accidental discharge statute cover Zimmerman if it wasnt' added until after the shooting? I have no idea, but it seems O'Mara is keeping his options open as to what defense to use, both at trial and for future negotiating with the prosecutor, and nothing is written in stone as of yet.
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