(CBS/AP) CBS News has confirmed that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman will be charged in the February shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
State Attorney Angela Corey is scheduled to hold a news conference at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the state attorney's office in Jacksonville, Florida related to the Martin investigation.
According to a senior law enforcement official, Corey is expected to announce that Zimmerman will face state charges. The number or nature of the charges was not immediately known.
Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after following the teenager in a Sanford gated community outside Orlando on Feb. 26. He said he was returning to his truck when Martin attacked him and that he shot the unarmed teen during the fight. He was briefly held by police but was not arrested, in part because of Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law.
Where is George Zimmerman?
New info expected in Trayvon Martin case
AG vows thorough review in Trayvon Martin case
New info expected in Trayvon Martin case
AG vows thorough review in Trayvon Martin case
The lack of an arrest has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic. Martin was black.
On Tuesday, Zimmerman's attorneys announced they were no longer representing him and that they had not heard from him since Sunday, although he had contacted talk show host Sean Hannity and the special prosecutor.
"As of the last couple days, he has not returned phone calls, text messages or emails," attorney Craig Sonner said. "He's gone on his own. I'm not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to."
However, the person with knowledge of the case said law enforcement knows where Zimmerman is. His former attorneys have said he is in hiding and suffering from high levels of stress from the intense public scrutiny he is under.
Earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Justice Department will take appropriate action in the killing of Trayvon Martin if it finds evidence that a federal criminal civil rights crime has been committed.
Holder said the department will conduct a thorough and independent review of the evidence in the Martin matter. One of the department's top priorities, said Holder, is preventing and combating youth violence and victimization.
The Justice Department launched an investigation of the Martin killing three weeks ago.
"I know that many of you are greatly — and rightly — concerned about the recent shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a young man whose future has been lost to the ages," Holder told the 14th annual convention of the National Action Network, three days of discussion on race issues. Martin's parents were scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the meeting.
"If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action," said the attorney general. "I also can make you another promise: that at every level of today's Justice Department — preventing and combating youth violence and victimization is, and will continue to be, a top priority."
refererenced: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57412535/zimmerman-to-be-charged-in-trayvon-martin-case/