Dismissed Zimmerman trial juror speaks out

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Jerry Counelis was booted as a potential juror in the Zimmerman murder trial Wednesday after attorneys found a scathing Facebook post he made about the case.

Friday, the Lake Mary man was trespassed from the courthouse and defense attorney Mark O'Mara called him a "stealth juror."

Eyewitness News at 10's Ryan Hughes was the only reporter to speak to Counelis Friday night.

Counelis said he thinks O'Mara is a liar, and said he never visited a pro-Trayvon Martin website.

He said Zimmerman's attorney has no proof he did. Counelis remains adamant that he told the whole truth in the Seminole County courthouse.

Since being dismissed, he said he's faced nothing but name-calling.

"I'm not a liar. I'm no stealth juror," Counelis said.

Counelis told the court Wednesday he forgot he responded to a Facebook post in 2012 that slammed the Sanford Police Department for not arresting Zimmerman.

"Now do you remember everything you've posted on Facebook over the past year or two years? Well, of course not," Counelis said.

Counelis, referred to in court as juror E7, said his name has been dragged through the mud since he was dismissed.

"I tried to let it go for the last two days. It ain't going away. It ain't going away," Counelis said.

He said he fears the six jurors who hear the case though will face great hardship once the trial is over.

So he said he went to the Seminole County courthouse Friday afternoon to try to get better protection for the jurors.

He was banned from the property after an incident report said he pointed his finger at the jury assembly room and said, "Do they know what they are in for?"

"I wouldn't want to be on this jury for nothing," Counelis said.

Late Friday,O'Mara sounded off on the former prospective juror.

"A juror like that, what we call a 'stealth juror,' is unbelievably dangerous," O'Mara said.

O'Mara said behind-the-scenes investigative work found the Facebook information, and his team plans to vet the jurors even more going forward.

WFTV