SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County court records show Mathew Apperson, the man originally found guilty of firing a gun at George Zimmerman in 2015, will be getting a new trial.
Apperson, 42, was sentenced to 20 years on charges of attempted second-degree murder in 2016.
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According to court documents filed on Monday, the courts approved Apperson’s motion for a rehearing, along with his motion for post-conviction relief, meaning his 2016 sentence has been set aside.
The motion claimed that Apperson’s defense attorney was ineffective causing him to have an unfair trial.
The motion cited that the defense failed to object to jury instructions which included the language “not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,” which the motion claimed was “confusing and misleading.”
The motion also claims the defense attorney failed to “make proper objections and obtain definitive rulings” on an improper closing argument, records show.
Per court records, Apperson’s bond was set to $50,000 on Tuesday. He bounded out of the Seminole County Jail on Tuesday night.
Apperson was arrested in May 2015 after Lake Mary police said he shot a gun into an SUV driven by Zimmerman.
Zimmerman wasn’t hit by the bullet, but he was hit by glass and shrapnel. Apperson claimed he shot at Zimmerman’s SUV out of fear for his life after Zimmerman waved a gun at him. Zimmerman denied the claim.