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Matthew Apperson one of the many people who has gotten into a confrontation withGeorge Zimmerman since he fatally shot Trayvon Martin in 2012 was sentenced to 20 years in prison after shooting at Zimmerman a year ago.

Last month, Apperson, 38, was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, armed aggravated assault and shooting into a vehicle during his May 15, 2015, confrontation with Zimmerman, the Associated Press reported. Apperson, who unsuccessfully claimed he fired in self-defense, was sentenced Monday.

Zimmermans claim to infamy is the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin four years ago. Martin was unarmed, carrying a pack of Skittles candy and a can of iced tea and wandering through a neighborhood in Sanford, Fla., when he got into aconfrontation with Zimmerman.

Martin was black. Zimmerman, who told dispatchers that he was a neighborhood watch volunteer, identified him as Hispanic. The shooting of the teen sparked protests across the country and a nationwide conversation about Stand Your Ground laws.

Zimmerman claimed that Trayvon attacked him and that he fired in self-defense. He was acquitted a year after the shooting.

But the controversy has followed him, with sometimes violent results.

In August, Zimmerman was punched in the face by a guy at a bar after he boasted of being that guy who shot Trayvon Martin.

After the punch, Ed Winters, the owner of the bar, told the Orlando Sentinel:Everywhere this guy goes he causes controversy. Youd think hed keep a low profile.

There were also controversies that didnt end violently. Zimmerman has twice tried to auction off the gun used to kill Trayvon. Last October, he tweeted an image of Martins body with the words Z-man is a one-man army.

In 2013, he was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend. The case was later dropped. Two years later, he was arrested again this time oncharges of domestic aggravated assault for allegedly throwing a bottle of wine at his girlfriend and again the charges were later dropped.

The shooting involvingApperson in Lake Mary, Fla., wasnt related to the Trayvon Martin case. Apperson had testified that Zimmerman had threatened him in 2014 during a road-rage encounter, the AP reported.

Zimmerman testified lastweek that he was driving to a doctors appointment on May 11, 2015, when he noticed he was being pursued by a vehicle whose driver later pulled up, exchanged words and fired one gunshot at him that missed.

I heard a bang and my ears started ringing, Zimmerman, 32, told the jury.

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He claimed he fired at George Zimmerman in self-defense ...

Matthew Apperson was convicted of attempted second-degree murder in September. In addition to the 20-year sentence, he was also given a 15-year concurrent sentence for aggravated assault stemming from the same incident, Seminole County State Attorney spokeswoman Lynne Bumpus-Hooper said.

The road rage incident happened in Lake Mary, Florida, in May 2015.

Zimmerman testified that Apperson followed him, flashing his lights and honking his horn. Apperson pulled up beside Zimmerman and shot at him, but the bullet missed, Zimmerman said. He was cut by glass from a shattered window.

Speaking in court before the sentencing Monday, Zimmerman thanked jurors for convicting Apperson, who he said "showed absolutely no care for human life."

"Mr. Apperson pulled that trigger and didn't care. In fact, he joyfully bragged about killing me and said, 'I got him. I shot George Zimmerman.' He thought he had killed me, and he was happy about it," Zimmerman said.

During the trial, Apperson gave a different account, saying he acted in self-defense and that Zimmerman had threatened to kill him.

"I can't wrap my head around all of it," Lisa Apperson said, according to WFTV. "The lies, the things people have held onto, it's just so much injustice and it's such a shame."

Zimmerman was acquitted of a second-degree murder charge in 2013.

CNN's Holly Yan, Keith Allen and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

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Man sentenced in road rage shooting involving George ...

A Florida man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday for shooting at George Zimmerman, who had shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 in a case that garnered national attention, prosecutors said.

Matthew Apperson, 37, was convicted by a jury last month of second-degree attempted murder for firing at Zimmerman, 33, during a roadside confrontation in Lake Mary, Florida in May 2015.

A Sanford, Florida jury had acquitted Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watchman, of murder in the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old Martin. The case sparked the Black Lives Matter activist movement that campaigns against violence towards black people.

Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson in Seminole County called Apperson "a danger to the community" as she handed down the mandatory minimum sentence on Monday, ABC-affiliate WFTV 9 said.

Apperson also was sentenced to 15 years each for convictions of shooting into an occupied vehicle and aggravated assault with a firearm stemming from the altercation with Zimmerman, who sustained minor injuries from shattered glass, Florida State Attorney spokeswoman Lynne Bumpus-Hooper said.

The judge ordered the sentences be served concurrently.

"Bottom line, it's a 20-year sentence," Bumpus-Hooper said.

Apperson served about 14 months of his sentence while awaiting and undergoing trial.

His attorney was not immediately available for comment.

During his trial, Apperson testified that the shooting was in self defense. Zimmerman testified it was unprovoked and that he and Apperson had been involved in another roadside altercation in September 2014, in which Apperson, who is white, had accused him of being in the wrong over the shooting death of Martin.

Zimmerman claimed to have acted in self-defense when he shot Martin, a high school student who was walking through the community after stopping at a convenience store.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alan Crosby)

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Florida man gets 20 years in attempted murder of George ...

George Zimmerman looks at the jury as he testifies in a Seminole County courtroom Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 in Orlando, Fla. in Matthew Appersons second-degree attempted murder trial.

Red Huber, AP

SANFORD, Fla. -- A Florida man whoshot at George Zimmermans vehicle during an on-road confrontationhas been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that at the sentencing hearing Monday morning, Zimmerman said 38-year-old Matthew Apperson showed no regard for human life during the May 2015 confrontation, and even seemed joyful because he mistakenly thought hed killed Zimmerman.

A witness told Crimesider after the incident that Apperson had pulled into the parking lot of the commercial complex where he works, telling him, Please call 911, I just shot George Zimmerman!

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A Florida man, Ken Cornell, says he spoke to the man who allegedly shot at George Zimmerman's car. CBSN's Parvati Shallow and Vladimir Duthiers t...

Zimmerman testified last month that he was driving to a doctors appointment when he noticed he was being pursued by a vehicle whose driver later pulled up, exchanged words andfired one gunshot at him that missed.

Zimmerman is the former neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of second-degree murder afterfatally shooting unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.

There had apparently been an ongoing dispute between Apperson and Zimmerman. Apperson alleged in September 2014 that Zimmerman threatened him in a road-rage encounter, but did not press charges at the time.

Apperson was convicted by a Seminole County jury last month of attempted second-degree murder, armed aggravated assault and shooting into a vehicle. Apperson testified at trial that he acted in self-defense after Zimmerman flashed a gun. Zimmerman disputed that.

2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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George Zimmerman update: Sentence for gunman Matthew ...

George Zimmerman, the man acquitted for killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, was shot at by a man in Lake Mary, Florida. Hear the 911 call from the incident. VPC

Matthew Apperson makes a first appearance in Seminole County court at the John E Polk correctional facility, seen on a video monitor, in Sanford, Fla., on May 16, 2015.(Photo: Joshua C. Cruey, AP)

A Florida man who fired at George Zimmerman during a road-rage altercation was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday, authorities said.

Matthew Apperson, 38, was convicted by a Seminole Countyjury last month of attempted second-degree murder,armed aggravated assaultand shooting into a vehicle during a confrontation in Lake Mary, Fla., in May 2015.

Apperson told authorities he acted in self-defenseafter Zimmerman threatened him by pointing a gun at him first. Zimmerman disputed Apperson's claim, testifying that Apperson pulled up next to his pickupand shot him the bullet missing and striking the passenger side window.Zimmerman suffered minor injuries from the broken glass.

In an audio recording of a 911 call releasedby Lake Mary Police in 2015, an unidentified man told a dispatcher, "A guy just said he had to pull a gun on a guy he had to shoot at somebody." Questioned further by the dispatcher, the unidentified caller said Apperson was standing by the side of the road nearby. "He's driving an Infinity. He said it was George Zimmerman."

Janet White,Apperson's mother, pleaded withSeminole County Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson to drop the verdict, casting the blame squarely onZimmerman.

"We will hold our collective breaths to see what outrageous acts he (Zimmerman) performs next," White told the judge during the hearing,The Orlando Sentinel reported. Apperson's wife, Lisa, also accused Zimmerman of beingthe instigator of the incident, claiming her husband's innocence.

Authorities have"given George Zimmerman a golden ticket to go out and do whatever he wants to do," Lisa Apperson told the judge, according totheSentinel.

This wasn't the first timeZimmerman and Apperson were allegedly involved in an incident together. Back in September 2014, the two men reportedly shouted at each other, withApperson claiming Zimmerman threatened to kill him during a confrontation in their vehicles.Apperson who called the authorities decided not to press charges.

Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman acquitted of second-degree murder after fatally shooting unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, has had several brushes with the law since his controversial acquittal. In January 2015, Zimmerman was accused of assault by his then-girlfriend, who later recanted and decided not to file charges.

In September 2013, his estranged wife, Shellie, called authorities, claiming Zimmerman punched her father and was threatening her with a gun. She did not press charges.

Two months after the incident with his wife, Zimmerman was arrested and accused of domestic violence by girlfriend Samantha Scheibe. Scheibe later dropped the charges.

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Contributing:Greg Toppo from Tysons, Va.

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Fla. man sentenced 20 years for shooting George Zimmerman