Man who shot at George Zimmerman files motion claiming judge made errors in sentencing

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

Matthew Apperson filed a motion 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 count three, which is aggravated assault with a firearm.

Even if he 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 behind bars in October on a charge of second-degree attempted murder stemming from a 2015 road rage incident with Zimmerman on Lake Mary Boulevard.

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," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.

Sheaffer said that even if the judge corrects Apperson's sentencing guidelines on counts two and three, 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.

Sheaffer added that if Apperson hits a home run with his legal hurdles, he could knock a year and a half off his sentence for the lesser charges.

The case is still pending.