Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, charged with second degree murder over the high-profile shooting of unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin, filed a plea of not guilty on Monday.
"The defendant, by and through his undersigned attorney, enters a written plea of not guilty to the charges now pending against him," read a court document waiving Zimmerman's right to appear at his May 8 arraignment.
The plea came hours after Zimmerman was released from jail on a $150,000 bond. He is believed to have been taken out of the state for his own safety after receiving a string of threats in the racially-charged case.
Television pictures showed the 28-year-old, wearing jeans and a bulky brown jacket that appeared to conceal a bullet-proof vest, leaving a jail in Sanford, Florida shortly after midnight and stepping into a white car.
His release followed a dramatic court hearing on Friday in which he unexpectedly took the stand and apologized to the victim's parents, who dismissed it afterwards through a lawyer as insincere and "self-serving."
Prosecutors say 17-year-old Martin was simply "minding his own business" when he was accosted and shot dead by Zimmerman in late February after buying some candy and a bottle of iced tea from a local store in Sanford.
Zimmerman maintains he was acting in self-defense as Martin assaulted him.
Martin's family and supporters allege he was a victim of racial profiling , and the case sparked angry demonstrations in black communities across the country when police initially decided not to press charges.
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