George Zimmerman tried to choke his girlfriend and threatened to kill himself 10 days before his arrest on domestic violence charges, a Florida court heard on Tuesday.

The new allegations came during Zimmerman’s appearance in Sanford before county judge Fred Schott, who ruled that he must return to court in January to answer a charge that he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend Samantha Scheibe during an argument.

Zimmerman, 30, who was acquitted in July of the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin, was freed on $9,000 bond on the condition he has no contact with the alleged victim, or with any weapons or ammunition. He faces at least three years in jail if he is convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony offence.

Assistant state attorney Lymary Munoz, whose request for $50,000 bail was turned down, told Judge Schott that Zimmerman was also violent with Scheibe, 27, in the days before Monday lunchtime’s altercation at the house they shared in Apopka.

“The victim had indicated that there was a prior domestic violence incident that occurred approximately a week and a half ago that involved a choking, but she did not report it to the police,” she said.

“She did fear for her safety on the day of this incident. She indicated that they had been discussing breaking up. He also has mentioned suicide in the recent past. Due to those factors and the defendant indicating at the time he was going to commit suicide, that he had nothing to lose, we feel that the victim’s safety an the community’s safety is our paramount concern.”

Schott set bail at $8,900 on the aggravated assault charge, and at $50 each for misdemeanour charges of battery and criminal mischief, which relate to Zimmerman allegedly pushing Scheibe out of the door of the house, and smashing a glass table with the butt of a shotgun. Schott said he was setting a higher bond amount than usual because of the alleged strangulation attempt.

As well as being ordered to stay away from Scheibe, and from the house in Altamonte Springs of his estranged wife Shellie, Zimmerman must also wear an electronic tagging device and remain within the state of Florida.

Schott agreed to a request from Munoz that a third party, and not Zimmerman himself, be allowed to return to the Apopka address to retrieve his personal belongings.

“This is a volatile situation, potentially, so I’m going to leave that as a reasonable condition of bond,” Schott said.

Zimmerman, who appeared in handcuffs and a black prison outfit, spoke only briefly during the 12-minute hearing to confirm that he understood the charges against him. He was represented by public defenders Jeff Dowdy and Daniel Megaro, who said Zimmerman had no previous convictions and was not a flight risk.

After the hearing, Dowdy told reporters: “Of course he’s sorry about what happened,” adding that he was previously unaware of the alleged choking incident. He said Zimmerman was heavily in debt following the Martin case but did have somewhere to stay until his next court appearance on 7 January.

At a press conference on Monday, Dennis Lemma, chief deputy of the Seminole County sheriff’s office, said officers arrested Zimmerman after Scheibe made a 911 call to say he had pointed a gun at her, had barricaded himself inside and was smashing up her property.

“I need police right now. He’s in my house breaking all my things because I asked him to leave. He has his frickin’ gun, breaking all of my stuff right now,” she says in the recording, which was released on Monday.

In what seems to be his own 911 call made from inside the house, as deputies spoke to Scheibe outside, Zimmerman said his girlfriend, “for lack of a better word, has gone crazy on me.” Asked why he was calling for help when officers were already at the scene, he replied: “I just want everyone to know the truth.”

Zimmerman, who was questioned but not charged after an alleged fight with wife in Spetember, claimed it was Scheibe who broke the table because she became mad when he said he was willing to leave her. He said she had told him she was expecting the couple’s baby but wanted to raise their child alone.

Lemma said at the press conference that Scheibe was not pregnant.