(W:#403)The trial of Travis and Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan, for felony murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery

[ASHES]

The trial is soon to start, with a thousand jury summons sent out to residents of Glynn County.

1,000 summoned as possible jurors in Arbery slaying trial

Jury duty notices have been mailed to 1,000 people in Georgia for the approaching trial of three white men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery.

www.wrdw.com

The defense filed a motion to not allow media during jury selection. This will hopefully be denied:

Defense pushes to bar media in jury selection for Arbery death

Defense attorneys for men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery are asking a Georgia judge to keep reporters out of the courtroom.

www.wrdw.com

A defense attempt to suppress jailhouse calls was denied:

Arbery Killing: Judge allows defendants' jailhouse calls

In a blow to the defense for the men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery Georgia judge rules Gregory McMichael Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan's jailhouse calls be admissible.

www.courttv.com

Defense can not use Arbery's past criminal history, mental health history hasn't been ruled yet that I can find:

Judge: Ahmaud Arbery’s past troubles irrelevant to trial

“The character of victim is neither relevant nor admissible in murder trial,” the judge wrote in his ruling Monday.

www.wrdw.com

 

[mike2810]

Hopefully the media coverage has not tainted the jury pool. It will be interesting to see how the prosecution presents the case.

imo, the 3 defendants acted inappropriately and their actions led to to Arbery death.

 

[ASHES]

Since it is a stipulated fact that Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery, this is more a case about legal interpretations about self defense and citizen's arrest in Georgia. Knowing what we know from what they said on bodycam, I do not see how they can claim legal justification with either of those defenses.

Raw video 1/3:







Events of note:

1:35:

Travis McMichael: "We've had break-ins, my gun was stolen (months previous) and we saw him running (from the house under construction, on a different day), so we ran out, to stop him to try to talk to him." Unfortunately for him and the others, there is no such thing as a citizen's investigative stops, so the attempted detainment was illegal. It also contradicts their later claims it was an attempted citizen's arrest.



5:50-9:25:

The great quest to quench Travis McMichael's thirst.

 

[ASHES]

Raw video 2/3:











Events of note:



Gregory McMichael first makes contact with a deputy on camera 4:10







4:20:



The deputy asks Gregory if he saw anything, Gregory goes on to talk about the entire series of events from the beginning.







4:40:



Gregory states he saw "the same guy" that 'broke into' the house (under construction) just "hooked up" running by, so "I went in the house and told Travis I saw the guy (from alleged previous break-ins) C'mon let's go!" Travis then grabbed his shotgun (!!!) and hopped in the truck with Gregory.







5:09:



Gregory slips in he is former GPD.







5:20:



While Gregory is sitting on top of his grandchild's car seat in the front of the truck, Travis pulls alongside Ahmaud Arbery and Gregory says "Stop stop, we just want to talk to ya!" Ahmaud keeps running, obviously not wanting to chat. At this point he says Roddy (William "Roddie" Bryan) pulls out and joins the chase.







5:55:



Gregory says Bryan blocked Arbery after he turned around and ran the other direction to get away from them.







6:15:



Gregory says he is now somehow in the back of the truck (skips over when that happened), and Travis backs up alongside Arbery again and says "'Hey stop stop we just wanna talk to you' or something to that effect I don't remember the exact words of the f**kin thing."







6:22-6:41:



Gregory recounts all the events from the time Travis gets out of the truck with his shotgun until Arbery is shot in the chest. At the end of the statement, he mentions that Bryan has the event on video, which the statement he just gave does not match.







7:05:



After the deputy attempts multiple times to shush him while he goes to get his notepad, Gregory thinks that is a fine time to mention he was the Chief Investigator for the DA's office for a number of years.







7:32-19:50:



The great quest to find Gregory water to quench his thirst begins (he uses it to wash the blood off his hands first.)







11:55:



The deputy from the first body camera asks Gregory why he thinks Travis would be in cuffs.







12:40-19:25:



Gregory recounts his tale again, from the beginning. This time he includes the part where he gets in the back. He and Travis got out of the truck (armed) after Bryan blocked Arbery, and when he ran off the other direction and they hopped back in the truck, this time he didn't want to sit on the child seat so he got in the back.







18:48:



Gregory: "we pulled up alongside him (Arbery) and I said 'Stop, goddamn it!' ya know?" And then Travis jumps out of the truck with the shotgun, according to Gregory. Missing some key details there.







18:55:



Gregory "At some point, the guy more or less attacks him. He runs towards him, and they get into a fight over the damn shotgun." That is not the sequence of events shown in the Bryan video. He also only recounts 2 shots, when there were 3, and the first time he only recounted 1.







19:17:



Deputy to Gregory: "But how many shots were there?"



Gregory "Two."



Deputy "Two?"



Gregory "Two, yeah."



There were 3. Gregory claims to have "seen" the two shots and is confident in that number.







21:03:



A deputy asks if Arbery was walking:



Gregory: "Nooooo he was running, flat out. Running flat out. I don't know where he was coming from down there."



Running flat out is not an arrestable offence Mr. McMichael, and citizens do not have authority to conduct investigative detentions, which is what they've said multiple times is what they were attempting to do (stop him so they could talk to him, ostensibly to find information about alleged crimes.)







23:15:



Gregory reiterates the point that the reason they chased Arbery is because they recognized him from the surveillance videos where he was seen not stealing anything, as were a number of other people in the neighborhood. Except the kids, the kids on the surveillance tape took some scrap wood. He also saw him running past his house a few days prior. None of that gives Gregory, Travis or Bryan the authority to attempt a citizen's arrest or hinder the free movement of another equal citizen. He also slips in another retelling of the beginning, where he says they attempted to "catch", not "talk to" Arbery regarding his habit of running and appearing on video tapes not committing crimes they are allowed to arrest him for.







24:15:



Gregory thinks it is pertinent to let the group of police and EMTs around him know that back in the day, he knew all the firefighters and EMT's in the county, because he was a Glenn County Police officer if you didn't know.







30:55:



The drinking water problem appears to have been solved.

 

[ASHES]

Raw video 3/3: (Gregory McMichael)















Events of note:



Gregory McMichael first makes contact with a deputy on camera 4:10







4:20:



The deputy asks Gregory if he saw anything, Gregory goes on to talk about the entire series of events from the beginning.







4:40:



Gregory states he saw "the same guy" that 'broke into' the house (under construction) just "hooked up" running by, so "I went in the house and told Travis I saw the guy (from alleged previous break-ins) C'mon let's go!" Travis then grabbed his shotgun (!!!) and hopped in the truck with Gregory.







5:09:



Gregory slips in he is former GPD.







5:20:



While Gregory is sitting on top of his grandchild's car seat in the front of the truck, Travis pulls alongside Ahmaud Arbery and Gregory says "Stop stop, we just want to talk to ya!" Ahmaud keeps running, obviously not wanting to chat. At this point he says Roddy (William "Roddie" Bryan) pulls out and joins the chase.







5:55:



Gregory says Bryan blocked Arbery after he turned around and ran the other direction to get away from them.







6:15:



Gregory says he is now somehow in the back of the truck (skips over when that happened), and Travis backs up alongside Arbery again and says "'Hey stop stop we just wanna talk to you' or something to that effect I don't remember the exact words of the f**kin thing."







6:22-6:41:



Gregory recounts all the events from the time Travis gets out of the truck with his shotgun until Arbery is shot in the chest. At the end of the statement, he mentions that Bryan has the event on video, which the statement he just gave does not match.







7:05:



After the deputy attempts multiple times to shush him while he goes to get his notepad, Gregory thinks that is a fine time to mention he was the Chief Investigator for the DA's office for a number of years.







7:32-19:50:



The great quest to find Gregory water to quench his thirst begins (he uses it to wash the blood off his hands first.)







11:55:



The deputy from the first body camera asks Gregory why he thinks Travis would be in cuffs.







12:40-19:25:



Gregory recounts his tale again, from the beginning. This time he includes the part where he gets in the back. He and Travis got out of the truck (armed) after Bryan blocked Arbery, and when he ran off the other direction and they hopped back in the truck, this time he didn't want to sit on the child seat so he got in the back.







18:48:



Gregory: "we pulled up alongside him (Arbery) and I said 'Stop, goddamn it!' ya know?" And then Travis jumps out of the truck with the shotgun, according to Gregory. Missing some key details there.







18:55:



Gregory "At some point, the guy more or less attacks him. He runs towards him, and they get into a fight over the damn shotgun." That is not the sequence of events shown in the Bryan video. He also only recounts 2 shots, when there were 3, and the first time he only recounted 1.







19:17:



Deputy to Gregory: "But how many shots were there?"



Gregory "Two."



Deputy "Two?"



Gregory "Two, yeah."



There were 3. Gregory claims to have "seen" the two shots and is confident in that number.







21:03:



A deputy asks if Arbery was walking:



Gregory: "Nooooo he was running, flat out. Running flat out. I don't know where he was coming from down there."



Running flat out is not an arrestable offence Mr. McMichael, and citizens do not have authority to conduct investigative detentions, which is what they've said multiple times is what they were attempting to do (stop him so they could talk to him, ostensibly to find information about alleged crimes.)







23:15:



Gregory reiterates the point that the reason they chased Arbery is because they recognized him from the surveillance videos where he was seen not stealing anything, as were a number of other people in the neighborhood. Except the kids, the kids on the surveillance tape took some scrap wood. He also saw him running past his house a few days prior. None of that gives Gregory, Travis or Bryan the authority to attempt a citizen's arrest or hinder the free movement of another equal citizen. He also slips in another retelling of the beginning, where he says they attempted to "catch", not "talk to" Arbery regarding his habit of running and appearing on video tapes not committing crimes they are allowed to arrest him for.







24:15:



Gregory thinks it is pertinent to let the group of police and EMTs around him know that back in the day, he knew all the firefighters and EMT's in the county, because he was a Glenn County Police officer if you didn't know.







30:55:



The drinking water problem appears to have been solved.

 

[gboisjo]

There only chance is for a mistrial ..somehow given the location a redneck racist somehow finds his way into the jury.

Sooner or later they will be found guilty and spend many years in prison.

 

[ASHES]

There only chance is for a mistrial ..somehow given the location a redneck racist somehow finds his way into the jury.

Sooner or later they will be found guilty and spend many years in prison.

I doubt a mistrial, but there are still federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges to deal with.

Federal Hate Crime and Attempted Kidnapping Charges Filed Against Men Accused of Murdering Ahmaud Arbery

The three men charged at the state level with allegedly murdering Ahmaud Arbery, 25, had their legal exposure compound on Wednesday, with federal prosecutors indicting them with hate crimes, attempt kidnapping and other offenses.

lawandcrime.com

 

[gboisjo]

I doubt a mistrial, but there are still federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges to deal with.

Federal Hate Crime and Attempted Kidnapping Charges Filed Against Men Accused of Murdering Ahmaud Arbery

The three men charged at the state level with allegedly murdering Ahmaud Arbery, 25, had their legal exposure compound on Wednesday, with federal prosecutors indicting them with hate crimes, attempt kidnapping and other offenses.

lawandcrime.com

If you followed the prosecution of this case and the prosecutors involved it can't help but give one pause.

And when the Feds charge, your pretty much done for.

I'll be following the entire trial via Court TV, this is one for the ages

 

[AGENT J]

well so far unless something new and factual comes out that actually matters to the case these 3 dudes are toast . . . and based on current info .. they should be
guess we'll have to wait and see

 

[ASHES]

If you followed the prosecution of this case and the prosecutors involved it can't help but give one pause.

And when the Feds charge, your pretty much done for.

I'll be following the entire trial via Court TV, this is one for the ages

The call is quite damning, and now the original prosecutor is facing her own charges for her handling of this case.

Ex-prosecutor charged in Ahmaud Arbery case booked at jail

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The former prosecutor charged with misconduct for her handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case was booked at a Georgia jail on Wednesday and released.

apnews.com

 

[ASHES]

I apologize for the double post on parts 2 and 3. There is a third video, I just need to find that old post.

 

[ASHES]

Here is the proper part 2:


Raw video 2/3 (Roddy Bryan)




Events of note:

0:40:

he sees Arbery running by, with the white truck following. He asks them "you gottim?" Then he joined the chase and made some moves.



1:00:

he says he cut off Arbery and tried to block him, and he made several moves on Arbery. He has no legal authority to attempt a citizen's arrest and he never says that's what he was trying to do.



1:40:

he is behind Arbery, the McMichaels are coming from the other direction towards them (so, not following recording, but actively participating with no knowledge of what was happening) and he tried blocking him again.



7:50:

he says he cornered Arbery, and admits there was contact between his truck and Arbery (tries claiming Arbery was trying to get in his truck).

 

[ASHES]

Arbery's mental health history being admitted was not allowed by the judge. So the defense cannot use his past criminal or mental health in their defense of killing him.

Link to ruling: (PDF)

https://glynncounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/72887/Order-on-the-Admission-of-the-Victims-Mental-Health-Records

 

[ASHES]

Gregory McMichael considers the killing of Arbery a "good deed." That will now be used against him at trial.

(At 1:45)

 

[gboisjo]

Gregory McMichael considers the killing of Arbery a "good deed." That will now be used against him at trial.

(At 1:45)

We're talking about the rural conservative south here, they don't think the way you do.

The defense for William Bryan is licking his chops, that the trial will take place in the same small town where the incident occurred and where everyone knows each other.

​

 

[ClaraD]

The trial is soon to start, with a thousand jury summons sent out to residents of Glynn County.

1,000 summoned as possible jurors in Arbery slaying trial

Jury duty notices have been mailed to 1,000 people in Georgia for the approaching trial of three white men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery.

www.wrdw.com

The defense filed a motion to not allow media during jury selection. This will hopefully be denied:

Defense pushes to bar media in jury selection for Arbery death

Defense attorneys for men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery are asking a Georgia judge to keep reporters out of the courtroom.

www.wrdw.com

A defense attempt to suppress jailhouse calls was denied:

Arbery Killing: Judge allows defendants' jailhouse calls

In a blow to the defense for the men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery Georgia judge rules Gregory McMichael Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan's jailhouse calls be admissible.

www.courttv.com

Defense can not use Arbery's past criminal history, mental health history hasn't been ruled yet that I can find:

Judge: Ahmaud Arbery’s past troubles irrelevant to trial

“The character of victim is neither relevant nor admissible in murder trial,” the judge wrote in his ruling Monday.

www.wrdw.com

yep, no reason to use a victims past history....especially when the people who killed him had no knowledge of that history.
I am hoping this is a very public trial....and that they throw the book at these fools.

 

[ClaraD]

We're talking about the rural conservative south here, they don't think the way you do.

The defense for William Bryan is licking his chops, that the trial will take place in the same small town where the incident occurred and where everyone knows each other.

​

Savannah is mostly black.

 

[ASHES]

yep, no reason to use a victims past history....especially when the people who killed him had no knowledge of that history.
I am hoping this is a very public trial....and that they throw the book at these fools.

There are cases where it could be relevant to the facts of the case, but not usually, and not in this case.

 

[Lursa]

Thanks for starting the thread. I'll be following.

 

[gboisjo]

Savannah is mostly black.

The trial is not in Savannah, its in Brunswick, 70 miles south of Savannah. Get your facts together.

Black or African American - 55.07%, White - 40.03%, Asian - 2.16%·

Long before the Arbery incident in Brunswick, Georgia black residents described their relationships with the majority white local law enforcement as bordering on hostile.

This is a typical southern rural town where blacks and whites don't exactly care for one another. Finding truly unbiased jurors in Brunswick will be nearly impossible.

The potential for a mistrial and to a lesser degree an acquittal in Bryan's case are good IMHO.

 

[ClaraD]

The trial is not in Savannah, its in Brunswick, 70 miles south of Savannah. Get your facts together.

Black or African American - 55.07%, White - 40.03%, Asian - 2.16%·

Long before the Arbery incident in Brunswick, Georgia black residents described their relationships with the majority white local law enforcement as bordering on hostile.

This is a typical southern rural town where blacks and whites don't exactly care for one another. Finding truly unbiased jurors in Brunswick will be nearly impossible.

The potential for a mistrial and to a lesser degree an acquittal in Bryan's case are good IMHO.

Still a black majority, correct? The crime happened in Brunswick, but last I had heard they were moving it to Savannah. I live a couple of hours away from there half of the year...it isn't what I would call rural....where I live half the year, is indeed rural. but it is in South Carolina, not Georgia....and still in the Low Country.

 

[ClaraD]

There are cases where it could be relevant to the facts of the case, but not usually, and not in this case.

that would only be if there were a past history between victim and the person accused, but in this case, there wasn't a known relationship and the victim's past would have been unknown to them.

 

[ASHES]

Still a black majority, correct? The crime happened in Brunswick, but last I had heard they were moving it to Savannah. I live a couple of hours away from there half of the year...it isn't what I would call rural....where I live half the year, is indeed rural. but it is in South Carolina, not Georgia....and still in the Low Country.

The trial isn't moving. Neither side filed a motion for change of venue. The jury will come from Glynn County, which at the 2010 census, was about 68% white and 26% black.

 

[ASHES]

The jury selection starts Monday morning, presumably at 9:30am EST (that's when their calender shows them usually starting, but no current calender is currently posted.) It will most likely be streamed. As in the Chauvin trial, in the case sensitive information may be discussed, the stream may be temporarily suspended, rather than disallowing all coverage like the defense here is asking. I'm keeping an eye out for a ruling on this, so if anyone sees it, feel free to post it.

 

[ClaraD]

The trial isn't moving. Neither side filed a motion for change of venue. The jury will come from Glynn County, which at the 2010 census, was about 68% white and 26% black.

Glynn County is more than Brunswick. Brunswick has a different racial makeup

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Brunswick, GA are Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (54.1%), White (Non-Hispanic) (33.1%), White (Hispanic) (6.98%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (2.16%), and Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (1.66%). 0% of the households in Brunswick, GA speak a non-English language at home as their primary language.