State Attorney Employee Fired After Raising Questions About Whether Prosecutors Withheld Evidence From Zimmerman Defense

An employee with the Florida state attorney's office who testified that he was concerned prosecutors withheld certain evidence from George Zimmerman's defense team has been fired.

Ben Kruidbos, an IT worker from the state attorney's office, testifies during a hearing for George Zimmerman, in Seminole circuit court, in Sanford, Fla. , Thursday, June 6, 2013. (AP)

Ben Kruidbos was the information technology director when he testified last month that he was worried prosecutors didn't turn over information about deleted images and text messages Kruidbos recovered from Trayvon Martin's cell phone, including photos of a hand holding a gun and a plant that looked like marijuana.

The Florida Times-Union reported Kruidbos was hand-delivered a letter at 7:30 a.m. Friday stating he “can never again be trusted to step foot in this office.” Kruidbos had been on paid leave since May, after he was identified by name in a court hearing.

Kruidbos, through his attorney, had informed Zimmerman's defense that the information from Martin's cell phone existed, CNN reported.

Kruidbos testified in court that he was worried about losing his job but said it was worth the risk of coming forward.

According to the Times-Union, the letter informing Kruidbos he had been fired claims he did an unsatisfactory job of overseeing the information technology office and that he violated public records laws by wiping clean a computer assigned to him.

A six-person jury entered its second day of deliberations Saturday over whether to convict Zimmerman in the fatal shooting death of Martin, 17. Zimmerman, who says he shot Martin in self-defense, faces a potential lifetime prison sentence if found guilty.

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