Jury selection began Monday for the trial of a man accused of shooting at George Zimmerman last year.

  • Matthew Apperson is accused of shooting at George Zimmerman
  • Jury selection has begun in his 2nd-degree attempted murder trial
  • Attorneys trying to find jurors not swayed by Zimmerman's notoriety

Matthew Apperson is charged with second-degree attempted murder, among other charges. Prosecutors say he shot at George Zimmerman last May.

The State Attorney’s Office said jury selection normally lasts about half a day. But jury members at the Seminole County Clerk of Courts in Sanford on Monday were harder to pick because of the notoriety of the alleged victim, and the process took significantly longer.

Apperson's attorney, Michael LeFay, methodically asked questions, testing each potential jury member's perception and knowledge of Zimmerman — who was acquitted in 2013 in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin — and what they had read or seen in the news.

“If you had a reasonable doubt as to if a person acted in self-defense, would you be able to follow that?" LeFay asked one potential juror.

Authorities say that in May 2015, Apperson was driving in Lake Mary and shot at Zimmerman, the bullet piercing the window of Zimmerman's vehicle and narrowly missing his head. Apperson's attorney said the shooting was self-defense, saying Zimmerman threatened to kill his client during a road-rage encounter.

Zimmerman has denied pointing a gun at Apperson but has said he had two firearms in his truck that day.

A few months later, the court found Apperson guilty of disorderly conduct for urinating on a neighbor’s front porch. That conviction, according to the State Attorney’s Office, violated his bond, which caused him to be jailed for the past few months.

This trial carries a much heavier sentence, however — if convicted, Apperson faces a 20 year minimum mandatory jail sentence.

“If you have a reasonable doubt, you should find the defendant not guilty. If you have no reasonable doubt, you should find the defendant guilty,” Judge Debra Nelson told Seminole County jurors Monday.

Apperson is also facing charges of aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty.

Opening statements are likely to begin Tuesday. The State Attorney’s Office said they’ll start with other witnesses, then Zimmerman himself is expected to testify. The trial may be over by Thursday.