Man who shot at George Zimmerman says judge made errors in sentencing

The man convicted last year of trying to kill George Zimmerman will be back in a Florida courtroom next week.

Matthew Apperson filed a motion in Seminole County, asking the judge to correct errors he claims were made with the sentence he received.

The motion asks the judge to correct the sentence on the count for aggravated assault with a firearm.

Even if Apperson wins, it will have no effect on his prison sentence unless his case is overturned on appeal.

Apperson was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison in October on a charge of second-degree attempted murder stemming from a 2015 road rage incident with Zimmerman.

Apperson claimed throughout the trial that he was defending himself. He is also serving 15 years on a charge of shooting into an occupied vehicle and aggravated assault with a firearm.

According to a 77-page motion, Apperson accused the court of sentencing errors in regard to those two charges.

"It's important in any prosecution that the court gets it right," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

Sheaffer said that even if the judge corrects Apperson's sentencing guidelines, it will have little impact on his overall sentencing, because his sentences are running concurrently.

"The only way this is going to make any difference is if he wins his appeal on the attempted murder charge. Otherwise he is going to be serving that mandatory 20-year sentence on that charge," Sheaffer said.

The case is still pending.

Cox Media Group