A jury found three
Georgia men guilty
of murder in the
killing of Ahmaud
Arbery, a
25-year-old Black
man whom the trio
pursued and
confronted after
seeing Arbery
running in their
neighborhood in
2020. (AP Graphic)
BREAKING:
McMichaels,
Bryan
guilty
of
murdering
Ahmaud
Arbery
Asia
Simone
Burns,
Shaddi
Abusaid,
Bill
Rankin,
and
Alexis
Stevens
ajc.com
BRUNSWICK,
Ga. -
The
three
men
accused
of
killing
Ahmaud
Arbery
were
convicted
of
murder
Wednesday
afternoon.
Travis
McMichael
was
convicted
of
malice
murder.
He, his
father
Greg
McMichael,
and
William
“Roddie”
Bryant
were all
three
convicted
of
felony
murder
in a
Glynn
County
courtroom
in
Brunswick.
Watch a
replay
of the
verdicts,
courtesy
of Court
TV:
The
verdict
was
reached
shortly
after
1:20
p.m.
Wednesday
after
about 11
hours of
deliberations.
Sentencing
has not
yet been
scheduled,
but
Judge
Timothy
Walmsley
said it
would be
in the
coming
weeks.
The
state
has put
the
defendants
on
notice
they may
seek a
sentence
of life
in
prison
without
parole.
In
addition
to
malice
murder,
Travis
McMichael
was
convicted
on all
other
counts,
including
four
counts
of
felony
murder,
two
counts
of
aggravated
assault,
false
imprisonment,
and
criminal
attempt
to
commit a
felony.
ExploreComplete
coverage
of the
Ahmaud
Arbery
case
Greg
Michael
was
convicted
on all
counts,
except
malice
murder.
Bryan
was
convicted
of three
counts
of
felony
murder
and one
count
each of
aggravated
assault,
false
imprisonment
and
criminal
attempt
to
commit a
felony.
Arbery,
who was
Black,
was
killed
Feb. 23,
2020,
after
being
chased
through
the
Satilla
Shores
neighborhood
just
outside
Brunswick.
Travis
McMichael,
who
fired
the
fatal
shotgun
blasts;
Greg
McMichael,
a former
investigator
for the
local
district
attorney’s
office;
and
their
neighbor,
Bryan,
were
arrested
more
than two
months
later.
Both the
McMichaels
and
Bryan
are
white.
The
defendants
argued
they
were
trying
to
conduct
a
citizen’s
arrest
when
they
chased
the
fleeing
Arbery,
whom
they
suspected
of a
prior
burglary.
Travis
McMichael
took the
stand
last
week,
contending
he fired
in
self-defense
during a
tussle
over the
12-gauge
shotgun
in the
road.
ExploreListen
to
"Breakdown"
Season
8: The
Ahmaud
Arbery
case
Allegations
of
racist
vigilantism
were
lodged
last
year
after
Bryan’s
cellphone
footage
became
public.
A Glynn
County
police
officer
testified
that he
watched
the
video at
the
scene
from
inside
Bryan’s
truck,
but the
agency
never
made any
arrests.
The GBI
took
over the
case in
May
2020,
after
the
viral
clip
sparked
national
outrage
and the
McMichaels
were
arrested
two days
later.
The
decision
of the
jury –
comprised
of 11
white
people
and one
Black
man —
hinges
on
whether
they
believe
the
McMichaels
and
Bryan
were
justified
in their
efforts
to
detain
Arbery
under
Georgia’s
old
citizen’s
arrest
law. The
law,
which
was
largely
repealed
this
year in
the wake
of
Arbery’s
killing,
gave
private
citizens
the
right to
detain
someone
if they
had
“reasonable
and
probable
grounds
of
suspicion”
that
person
was
escaping
a
felony.
Arbery
visited
a home
under
construction
at least
five
times in
the
weeks
and
months
leading
up to
his
shooting.
His
visits
were
captured
on
surveillance
footage,
but
prosecutors
said
there is
no proof
he ever
stole
anything.
—
This
story is
developing.
Please
return
to The
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
for
updates.
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