George Zimmerman's Stalking Victim Demands His Concealed Weapon License be Revoked
By TheBlast Staff on November 29, 2018 at 9:20 PM EST
The man George Zimmerman was convicted of stalking is now demanding that Zimmerman's ability to carry a concealed weapon in public be prohibited, citing his erratic mental state and penchant for violence, and he claims the state of Florida failed to follow its own laws.
Dennis Warren is the private investigator who tracked down potential participants for "Trayvon Martin: Rest in Power," the docuseries co-executive produced by Jay-Z and Michael Gasparro.
Warren was on the receiving end of a barrage of threatening messages during the process, including over 185 text messages, which contained threats on his life and his family.
Zimmerman was eventually criminally charged with stalking and pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor offense earlier this month. He was sentenced to 12 months supervised probation and ordered to stay away from Warren and his family for 10 years.
Additionally, Zimmerman was ordered not to possess any guns for one year, but Warren claims officials failed to follow the proper procedure to limit his access to weapons and he wants answers.
Warren has now sent a letter, obtained by The Blast, to Florida Department of Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, the Florida official who heads the agency responsible for issuing concealed carry permits.
Warren claims that Zimmerman's conceal carry license should have been temporarily suspended when he was criminally charged with stalking back in March 2018 and then revoked until the year 2022 upon his conviction earlier this month.
He's citing a statute, FS 790.06(3), that states a gun owner’s license will be suspended if they are charged with a violent crime constituting a misdemeanor, which includes stalking. Moreover, the Department will revoke a license if someone is convicted of that crime until 3 years after they’ve finished serving their sentence/probation.
The P.I. believes the Florida Department of Agriculture never suspended or revoked Zimmerman's license and is calling for "immediate action be taken on this matter."
Warren believes Zimmerman is a continued danger to the community, and sending him out in public with the ability to conceal a loaded weapon could be fatal. He included 7 documented incidents of violence involving Zimmerman, including physical altercations, since the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
He also says, "Mr. Zimmerman's propensity for violence, coupled with his self proclaimed mental health issues and financial issues, should give rise for further close evaluation and scrutiny as to any possible future eligibility to obtain a concealed weapons permit," adding that the revocation should extend beyond the mandatory 3-year period.
Warren says the letter has been sent to the office of the Commissioner, who faced massive criticism earlier this year after it was discovered his department failed to run national background checks on applications for concealed weapons permits for one year resulting in the revocation of nearly 300 permits. He has not yet heard back on a decision.
TheBlast.com