The first witnesses called in the George Zimmerman second-degree murder trial include a friend Trayvon Martin was visiting, the clerk who sold him Skittles, and the dispatcher who took Zimmerman's call about a suspicious person.

The prosecution's first four witnesses, called Monday afternoon, were:

  • Chad Joseph, whose mother is the girlfriend of Trayvon Martin's father
  • Andrew Gaugh, the 7-Eleven clerk
  • Sean Noffke, the dispatcher who spoke to Zimmerman
  • Ramona Rumph, a communications directorfor the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

Follow LIVE UPDATES from Day 11 of the George Zimmerman trial.

State's first witnesses

Chad Joseph, now 15, lives at the Retreat at Twin Lakes subdivision with his mother, who is the girlfriend of Trayvon Martin's father, Tracy Martin. Joseph said Trayvon was visiting on Feb. 26, 2012, and asked if he wanted anything from 7-Eleven. Joseph asked for Skittles.

Andrew Gaugh was shown surveillance footage of him checking out Trayvon Martin that same night. He said he didn't remember having a conversation with Martin, and he doesn't remember the transaction, besides acknowledging that he was the clerk in the surveillance video.

Sean Noffke confirmed on the stand that he was the dispatcher heard in the non-emergency call George Zimmerman made. Noffke said when Zimmerman told him he was following someone, he replied, "We don't need you do to that," because dispatchers are not allowed to order callers to do anything.

Ramona Rumph was asked to explain how 911 calls are recorded for written reports. Part of a previous call Zimmerman made from August 2011, six months before the Trayvon Martin shooting, was played for the jury. Rumph's testimony was cut short as the defense objected to her testimony, asking to have it stricken.

Judge Debra Nelson ended up dismissing the jury for the day shortly before 5 p.m. The judge will hear more arguments regarding the defense's motion at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Opening statements

A prosecutor told jurors in opening statements Monday that George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin "because he wanted to," not because he had to, while the neighborhood watch volunteer's attorney said the shooting of the teen was carried out in self-defense.

The opposing attorneys squared off on the first day of testimony in a trial that has attracted international attention and prompted nationwide debates about racial profiling, vigilantism and the laws governing the use of deadly force.

After opening statements concluded Monday afternoon, Judge Debra Nelson dismissed the jury from the courtroom while she handled another matter. That matter: A Zimmerman family friend claimed Trayvon Martin's father, Tracy, cursed at him under his breath during the first week of jury selection.

Tim Tucholski took the witness stand, saying Tracy Martin said an expletive under his breath at he was walking out and Tucholski was entering the courtroom Tuesday, June 11.

Defense attorney Don West used a joke in his opening statements to illustrate the difficulty of picking a jury amid such widespread publicity.

"Knock. Knock," West said.

"Who's there?"

"George Zimmerman."

"George Zimmerman who?"

"Ah, good. You're on the jury."

Included among the millions likely to be following the case are civil rights leaders the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who joined national protests in the weeks before prosecutors filed second-degree murder charges against Zimmerman. The charges came 44 days after the shooting.

Zimmerman, 29, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has denied that his confrontation with Martin before the shooting had anything to do with race. His mother was born in Peru. His father is a white American. Martin was black.

But just before opening statements began, Martin's parents sent out an urgent plea to their supporters to pray with them for justice, while their family attorney, Benjamin Crump, described the case as clear cut.

"There are two important facts in this case: No. 1: George Zimmerman was a grown man with a gun, and No. 2: Trayvon Martin was a minor who had no blood on his hands. Literally no blood on his hands. ... We believe that the evidence is overwhelming to hold George Zimmerman accountable for killing Trayvon Martin."

Prosecutor opens with obscenity

Prosecutor John Guy's first words to jurors recounted what Zimmerman told a police dispatcher in a call shortly before the fatal confrontation with Martin: "F------ punks. These a-------. They always get away."

Zimmerman was profiling Martin as he followed him through the gated community where Zimmerman lived and Martin was visiting, Guy said. He said Zimmerman viewed the teen "as someone about to a commit a crime in his neighborhood."

"And he acted on it. That's why we're here," the prosecutor said.

Zimmerman didn't have to shoot Martin, Guy said.

"He shot him for the worst of all reasons: because he wanted to," he said.

West told jurors a different story: Zimmerman was being viciously attacked when he shot Martin, he said. He was sucker-punched by Martin, who then pounded Zimmerman's head into the concrete sidewalk.

"He had just taken tremendous blows to his face, tremendous blows to his head," said West, after showing jurors photos taken by Zimmerman's neighbors of a bloodied and bruised neighborhood watch volunteer.

West also played for jurors the call to a police dispatcher in which Zimmerman used the obscenities.

Martin had opportunities to go home after Zimmerman followed him and then lost track of him, but instead the teen confronted the neighborhood watch volunteer, West said.

Guy argued, however, that there is no evidence to back up other claims by Zimmerman, including that Martin had his hands over Zimmerman's mouth. Guy said none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on Martin's body. The prosecutor also said Zimmerman's claim that he had to fire because Martin was reaching for his firearm is false since none of Martin's DNA was on the gun or holster.

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense. If he is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whom he did not recognize, walking in the gated townhome community where Zimmerman and the fiancee of Martin's father lived. There had been a rash of recent break-ins and Zimmerman was wary of strangers walking through the complex.

The two eventually got into a struggle and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest with his 9mm handgun. He was charged 44 days after the shooting, only after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the case and after protests. The delay in the arrest prompted protests nationwide.

Two police dispatch phone calls will be important evidence for both sides' cases.

The first is a call Zimmerman made to a nonemergency police dispatcher, who told him he didn't need to be following Martin.

The second 911 call captures screams from the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin's parents said the screams are from their son while Zimmerman's father contends they belong to his son.

Nelson ruled last weekend that audio experts for the prosecution won't be able to testify that the screams belong to Martin, saying the methods the experts used were unreliable.

Both calls were played for jurors by the defense in opening statements. Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, left the courtroom before the second call was played.

Opening statements were made two weeks after jury selection began. Attorneys picked six jurors and four alternates after quizzing the jury pool questions about how much they knew about the case and their views on guns and self-defense.

Zimmerman, Martin families release statements

The Zimmerman family released the following statement Monday afternoon:

"Mr. West made it abundantly clear to the jury the limitations the rule of sequestration places upon Mr. & Mrs. Zimmerman's ability to support their son George with their presence. Our parents were in the courtroom & determined to support their son but the State of Florida prevented them from doing so. George can count on his parent's & his family's unwavering & unconditional support, as he has throughout this ordeal, until he is acquitted."

Trayvon Martin's parents spoke Monday morning before court began:

Benjamin Crump: "A murder trial is a very emotional matter, but Trayvon's parents understand that the jury will have to hear all of the evidence and base their verdict on that evidence. We think that this is a simple case. There are two important facts in this case. Number one, George Zimmerman was a grown man with a gun, and number two, Trayvon Martin was a minor who had no blood on his hands. Literally he had no blood on his hands. There was none of George Zimmerman's DNA found on Trayvon Martin's hands or underneath his fingernails. We believe the evidence is overwhelming to hold George Zimmerman accountable for killing Trayvon Martin. As these formal proceedings begin, which Tracy and Sybrina have over the last year and a half fought so hard to get to, we understand that now it is time for the jury to do their duty and base the verdict and their decision on the evidence, the instructions of the court and the law"

Sybrina Fulton: "I'm here today as Trayvon Martin's mother. As I have been every day, I will be attending this court to try to get justice for my son. I ask that you pray for me and my family because I don't want any other mother to have to experience what I'm going through now."

Tracy Martin: "As the court proceedings continue today, we as a family look to and cherish and hold onto the memories that Trayvon left us with. As we enter the courtroom today in seeking justice for our son, we hold onto his smile which strengthens us and we ask that you all continue to pray for us."

Zimmerman jurors begin life in sequestration

The jury in the George Zimmerman murder trial is beginning its sequestered life.

Sequestration started this weekend, with attorneys set to make opening statements Monday. The 28-year-old Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in last year's shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The trial is expected to receive extensive media coverage, and the judge and attorneys don't want jurors exposed to it.

Court officials are mum on details, but past cases can provide examples. Jurors probably won't be allowed to read newspapers or access the Internet. They'll do almost everything as a group. In hotel rooms, TV news channels will be inaccessible, and landline telephones likely will be removed. Deputies will keep jurors' cellphones and give them back once a day for calls to loved ones and friends.