BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

More details surrounding the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin were revealed during a telephone conference. The conference call, hosted by the National Newspaper Publishers Association and included Ms. Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of Martin; NNPA Chairman Cloves Campbell, Attorney Benjamin Crump, Rev. Al Sharpton, George Curry, Rev. R. B. Holmes, and numerous others.

Tracy Martin gave the following account of how he learned of his son’s death. He had last spoken with him earlier in the afternoon on Sunday, February 26th.

Martin stated that he had gone out to dinner that evening. When he returned home and Trayvon was not there, he assumed that his 20-year-old nephew had picked him up. “I called his cell phone and it went to voice mail. Then I called my nephew’s phone and it went to voice mail. I assumed he was with my nephew.

“The next morning when  he hadn’t made it home, I called my nephew and he said Trayvon wasn’t with him. The first call I made was to Department of Juvenile Justice to see if he had been arrested.

“The third call I made was to the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number to file a missing person’s report.

“We were supposed to be leaving that morning (returning to Miami). The dispatcher asked a few questions and about five minutes later, called back and asked about the clothes he was wearing. The dispatcher said someone would be coming out to me.”

Martin said three police cars came to the residence. The detective spoke and asked if he had a recent photograph of his son. “I had just taken one of him a earlier, and showed it to him. He went to his car and retrieved a folder and asked if we could go inside.

“He pulled out a photograph of my pride and joy laying on the ground dead. His eyes weren’t all the way closed and his mouth wasn’t all the way closed. From that point, it has been a nightmare,” Martin said.

Trayvon’s mother, Ms. Sybrina Fulton, said it seems like an awful dream. “The pain goes and then it comes back. My heart is heavy and I still cry. It’s just difficult each day to get by.”

Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the family, said three independent witnesses, two white women and a Hispanic woman, all gave accounts of the shooting and said they heard Trayvon crying for help.

“The police are trying to intimidate the witnesses. … The police said the witness statements were inconsistent. “They never did a drug or background check on Zimmerman,” Attorney Crump said.

Attorney Crump further stated that George Zimmerman was questioned for about two hours after the shooting before he was released. But the police had not released any additional information about the case. He also said drug, alcohol screenings, and a background check were done on Trayvon. However, no such tests were performed on Zimmerman.

Former Governor David Patterson also pointed out that no one checked to see if Zimmerman had a permit to have the gun that night. However, he said the rules of the neighborhood watch is that the person cannot carry a gun while on duty.

Attorney Crump stated when asked if anyone knew where Zimmerman was, he said they were not sure.

Rev. Al Sharpton said he believes people from all over the country are reacting to the death of the teenager because, “We all see Trayvon in ourselves. We are born as suspects instead of citizens. Trayvon was executed as a suspect. This brought to the surface what we fear for ourselves and our children.”

Rev. Sharpton further stated that no one has asked for rallies to be held. But feel that the people are marching for themselves because they can identify with Trayvon.

Rev. Sharpton further said, “They (city officials) think it’s a small town and they are playing games. We’re here to let them know they (Trayvon’s parents) they have people all over the country and we’ve got their backs.”

Wednesday night, three of the City Commissioners cast no confidence votes against police Chief Bill Lee.

On Monday, a signed petition calling for justice bearing more than one million signatures will be presented to the Sanford City Commissioners during their regular meeting.