With a smile on his face, George Zimmerman spent Saturday afternoon posing for photos, sharing hugs and shaking hands with gun enthusiasts at a firearms expo in Lake Mary. 
 
 "It's so odd to me," said Zimmerman, about the celebrity treatment he receives in public. "[But] it is appreciated." 
 
 In his first interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Zimmerman described life after his acquittal last year in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The former Neighborhood Watch volunteer shot the unarmed black teen in Sanford on Feb. 26, 2012. 
 
 Now life for the 30-year-old is completely different. 
 
 He's always moving. 
 
 He's in debt. 
 
 And he's constantly receiving death threats. 
 
 "I just try to be smart where I go," said Zimmerman, who described the gun show at Gander Mountain Academy as a "friendly" event that didn't warrant extra protection. 
 
 Zimmerman said he carries a semi-automatic handgun for added safety. 
 
 "It's part of life," said Zimmerman, whose Twitter feed is a constant barrage of death threats. "It's unfortunately necessary right now." 
 
 The polarizing case that made Zimmerman a household name captured the world's attention for more than a year, prompting protests after Trayvon was fatally shot and Zimmerman was not immediately charged — then sparking more protests when Zimmerman was acquitted. 
 
 Zimmerman attended Saturday's expo after being invited by his friends at The Arms Room gun shop near Orlando. Donning a black Arms Room T-shirt, khaki shorts and a baseball cap, Zimmerman more or less blended in with the rest of the crowd until someone would approach him asking for a photo. 
 
 Not everyone in attendance Saturday was fazed by Zimmerman's appearance. 
 
 "I don't think he has a reason to be hidden from the public," said Katie Strupp, national events coordinator for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, one of the event's sponsors. 
 
 Others were not as supportive. One woman who declined to be identified jumped and grabbed her chest when she found out Zimmerman was there. 
 
 Aside from harsh criticism or palpable hatred, Zimmerman said people often wish him well and tell him, "God bless you." He said they often comment that he's not what they expected him to be. 
 
 He said he's been described by strangers as soft-spoken and even kind. He also frequently receives invitations to parties and barbecues from strangers and will go if he's in town. 
 
 But Zimmerman still often finds himself embroiled in controversy. About a week ago, a driver called Lake Mary police accusing Zimmerman of threatening to shoot him during a road-rage incident. The driver didn't press charges, so Zimmerman was not arrested. 
 
 The odd celebrity and media attention aside, Zimmerman describes himself as a regular, free citizen and tries to live a normal life. He said people have told him to use aliases, but he said "I'm not able to lie." 
 
 Zimmerman said he is constantly on the move, spending no more than a month in one state. He often flies to California, Texas and Virginia for speaking engagements and meetings with lawyers. 
 
 He recently launched a website to give himself a platform to speak freely. One of his posts discusses a series of portraits he has painted honoring the four Americans killed in Benghazi, Libya. 
 
 Zimmerman said he plans to give the original paintings to the families of the four people killed but will sell replicas and donate all the funds to various wounded veterans' organizations. 
 
 Zimmerman painted the portraits so the names of the victims killed wouldn't go unknown. He shared that sentiment on his site's first post Sept. 17: "I cannot fathom an America where the name of Tyrone Woods is not as well known as mine. It makes a difference, a tremendous one." 
 
 The post was signed "Your Friend, George M. Zimmerman." 
 
 cdineen@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414 ||||| A driver called Lake Mary police earlier this week, accusing former Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman of threatening to shoot him during a road-rage incident. 
 
 Zimmerman, 30, was not arrested. 
 
 Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell said the man, 35-year-old Matthew Apperson of Winter Springs, did not want to press charges, so there would be no arrest. 
 
 Apperson told a 911 dispatcher Tuesday morning that he was driving his Honda Accord on Lake Mary Boulevard, made a U-turn and headed west-bound when a Honda Ridgeline truck pulled alongside and someone inside rolled down his window. 
 
 "George Zimmerman was the driver, and they were threatening to kick my ___ and to shoot me," Apperson told the dispatcher. 
 
 Apperson said he pulled into a Circle K to find a phone so he could call for help when the Ridgeline made a maneuver to block him and "almost hit my car." 
 
 George Zimmerman is on trial in Sanford, Fla., on charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Here are some of the items introduced into evidence. 
 
 Zimmerman "said he was going to shoot me dead," Apperson told the dispatcher. 
 
 According to a police report, a store surveillance video showed that as Apperson was walking into the store, the Ridgeline left. 
 
 Apperson said he did not see any weapons in Zimmerman's truck, but police discovered that Apperson was carrying a gun. He has a concealed weapons permit, according to the report. 
 
 Two days later, Apperson called Lake Mary police again to report that he believed Zimmerman had followed him and was watching his movements. 
 
 Police investigated, found Zimmerman in his Ridgeline nearby, pulled him over and questioned him. He told them he had a doctor's appointment in a nearby building. 
 
 They took a handgun from him but returned it near the end of their eight-minute exchange, according to an officer's body video camera and patrol car dash camera. 
 
 Zimmerman appeared relaxed and at ease, especially shortly before departing. He shook hands with the two officers before climbing back into his truck, the video shows. 
 
 Bracknell said Apperson did not want to press charges the second time either. 
 
 Zimmerman was acquitted last year of murdering Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, whom he fatally shot Feb. 26, 2012, in a Sanford neighborhood. 
 
 Since then, he's had several run-ins with police. He spent two days in the Seminole County Jail in November after his then-girlfriend accused him of threatening her with a shotgun, pushing her out the door of their home and locking it. 
 
 She later recanted, and prosecutors dropped the case. 
 
 Two months earlier, his estranged wife, Shellie, and her father accused Zimmerman of threatening them with a gun as the couple tried to divide up their personal belongings. However, neither Shellie Zimmerman nor her father said they ever saw a gun - only that Zimmerman acted as if he had one and appeared to move his hand toward it. 
 
 He was handcuffed that day but released. 
 
 Sentinel staffer Stephen Hudak contributed to this report. rstutzman@tribune.com or 407-650-65394
– George Zimmerman is constantly on the move and in the news. It's been nearly three years since he shot unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin to death in Sanford, Fla., and his speaking engagements and meetings with attorneys afford him no more than a month in any given state. The Orlando Sentinel recently caught up with him at a gun show and reports that the 30-year-old is in debt, constantly under attack on Twitter, and carries a semi-automatic handgun for extra protection but that he refuses to use an alias because, he says, "I'm not able to lie." Zimmerman continues to pop in and out of the news. Late last year he made headlines when bids on eBay for his "first hand painted artwork" hit nearly $100,000, reports the Miami Herald. A few months prior, his estranged wife—who'd just filed for divorce—called 911 saying he'd threatened her with a gun, but she never followed up with charges. Not long after that, he was arrested on domestic violence charges, which his girlfriend ultimately dropped. (Earlier this month, a driver in Florida called police saying Zimmerman had threatened to shoot him dead when overcome by road rage.)