George Zimmerman in court on new assault charges

GlobalPost

George Zimmerman appeared in court Tuesday on new aggravated assault charges after his girlfriend claimed he pulled a gun on her.

Zimmerman, 30, was arrested Monday afternoon at the Apopka home of his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, after she called 911, Dennis Lemma, chief deputy with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, told CNN.

He's also charged with two misdemeanors — domestic violence battery and criminal mischief — in the incident.

A judge set bail at $9,000 and ordered Zimmerman to appear in court again next week.

He cannot possess guns or ammunition and was ordered to stay away from  Scheibe's house and wear a monitoring device, according to The Associated Press.

Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin four months ago.

This is the second time since then that he's been arrested on domestic violence allegations. No charges were filed in the first incident — a blowup with his estranged wife.

This time around, Zimmerman claimed Scheibe told him she was pregnant and wanted to raise the child on her own. He began packing his things, and told dispatchers she "just started smashing stuff, taking things that belonged to me."

The 27-year-old Scheibe claims she is not pregnant and that Zimmerman was the one smashing things up.

During Tuesday's court hearing, prosecutors said Zimmerman tried to choke Scheibe about a week earlier.

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!