George Zimmerman's girlfriend said that he choked her a week before she called police screaming that he had pointed a gun at her "fricking face," a prosecutor told a judge on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.
The one-time neighborhood watchman became infamous when he was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin, 17, earlier this year.
In Zimmerman's first court appearance since being arrested for aggravated assault charges, Assistant State Attorney Lymary Munoz says that Samantha Scheibe feared for her life because Zimmerman mentioned suicide and said he "had nothing to lose."
Zimmerman's public defenders said after the hearing that he did not appear to be suicidal and expressed confidence he would be acquitted of any wrongdoing. Hours later, Zimmerman was released from jail after posting $9,000 bond. He was seen walking out of the jail smiling and getting into a car, AP reports.
Jeff Dowdy, a public defender for Zimmerman, told the Associated Press that his family has been supporting him financially.
"I would think it would be difficult for George Zimmerman to get a job in central Florida," he said.
Zimmerman, 30, wore a gray jail outfit and was handcuffed during the hearing. He spoke only to the judge answering yes or no.
Zimmerman has been a mainstay in the public eye since he was acquitted of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon.
Federal authorities are now reviewing the case to see if Trayvon's civil rights were violated.
In September, only a few months after his acquittal and days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers, Zimmerman's estranged wife accused him of smashing an iPad during an argument at the home they had shared. Shellie Zimmerman initially told a dispatcher that her husband had a gun, though she later said he was not armed. No charges were ever filed because of a lack of evidence, AP reports.
Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic stops since his acquittal.
Both Zimmerman and his girlfriend called 911 and provided differing descriptions of this latest scuffle to dispatchers about the argument at the home she rents and where Zimmerman was also staying.
In Scheibe's call with the police, she accuses Zimmerman of pointing a gun at her, smashing a coffee table and then pushing her outside of her home.
In Zimmerman's call to dispatchers, he denied pointing a gun at her and blamed her for the broken table, AP reports.
Once deputies arrived, Scheibe told them that the ordeal started with an argument and that she'd asked Zimmerman to leave the house. According to the Associated Press, the arrest report says he began packing his belongings, including a shotgun and an assault rifle. She says she began putting his things in the living room and outside of the house, and he became upset.
At that point, the report said, he took the shotgun out of its case, AP reports.
"You point your gun at my fricking face," Scheibe is heard telling Zimmerman on a 911 call. "Get out of my house. Do not push me out of my house. Please get out of my house."
Seconds later, she told the dispatcher, "You kidding me? He pushed me out of my house and locked me out … He knows how to do this. He knows how to play this game."
Zimmerman then called 911 from inside of the house to tell his side of the story.
"I have a girlfriend who, for lack of a better word, has gone crazy on me," Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman claims that he never pointed a gun at his girlfriend and that she smashed the table. He also told the dispatchers that she was pregnant with their child and that she wanted to raise the child without him. "She got mad," Zimmerman said, when he started to leave, AP reports.
Seminole County Chief Deputy Dennis Lemma said at a news conference and AP reports that Scheibe was not pregnant. He also said Zimmerman was compliant and unarmed when deputies came to the house.
In addition to aggravated assault, which is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, Zimmerman has also been charged with battery and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. An arraignment was set for Jan. 7.
Read more at the Associated Press.