Their own words may have destined the men who killed Amado Arbury. WGN Radio 720

The video of Amado Arbury’s shotgun death was shocking evidence that suddenly brought the killing of a black man to public awareness.

However, the conviction for the murder of three white men who chased him may have been assured by investigators in their own words on the day of the shooting.

Greg McMichael, who was in the bed of a pickup truck when his son killed Arbury, told police that a black man was “trapped like a mouse,” and told Arbury. ”

Such a statement allowed the prosecutor to give context to a short video that did not show the entire shooting and was barely five minutes after the man chased Arbury.

“It’s these statements that ruined the defense more than the video. Appeal lawyer Andrew Fryschmann, who followed the trial in Atlanta, had never spoken to the police and he took something out of his property. He said the jury could have been acquitted if he said he saw him running.

They said:

Shooter Travis McMichael, his dad, Greg McMichael, and neighbor William “Rodi” Brian were Glynn just hours after Arbury was killed in Brunswick, Georgia in February 2020. I spoke extensively and frankly with the county investigators.

They told police that they didn’t know exactly what Arbury made a mistake. It would later hurt their defense that they were arresting civilians.

The Citizen’s Arrest Act, which was abolished by legislators after Arbury’s death, is prima facie that he sees, immediately knows, or escapes a felony the crime being committed in order to justify the arrest of the citizen. You need to have doubts.

“I don’t think the man actually stole anything from it, or even if he stole it, it was early in the process. But he went to this damn house over and over again. I’ll be back, “said Gregory McMichael, according to a record of an interview with Sergeant Glynn County Police. Roderic Nohilly read in court.

Brian was on his front porch when he saw Arberry passing by McMichael’s truck behind him. He told police he didn’t recognize any of them or didn’t know what prompted the chase, but he continued to join after yelling, “Did you get him?”

In an interview with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Brian said he wanted to take a picture of Arbury to show to the police, but couldn’t point out the crime he had committed.

“I thought he did something wrong,” Brian said. “I certainly didn’t know.”

The statement allowed prosecutor Linda Dunikoski to systematically break down the defense’s allegations.

“No one was talking about the arrest of private individuals, and I’m not going to use the magic word” arrest of citizens. ” “I saw a man committing a robbery and intended to detain him so he could be handed over to the police because he committed the crime,” said Page Pate, an Atlanta defense lawyer. No one is saying that. “

Defensive case

It left a lawyer for men to struggle to explain their statement.

“Evidence suggests that Lodi Brian is legally struggling to find the right word,” Brian’s lawyer Kevin Goff told the jury in closing arguments on Monday.

Travis McMichael testified in his defense, saying he was shocked when he first spoke to the police, and said the shooting was the most traumatic event in his life.

Greg McMichael’s lawyer suggested that he would never have shouted in Arbury, “Stop, or you’ll blow your head off,” as he told police. Made by the police. Both of these recordings covered only a small portion of Arbury’s deadly five-minute chase.

“There are only a handful of defenses to deal with what is basically a confession,” Page said.

Familiar face

Greg McMichael was a former investigator in the Glynn County district office and may have felt like he was able to overcome the problem among his acquaintances and friends.

It worked for a while. The man was not charged for more than two months. Only after the shooting video was released and the case was handed over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. A state agent charged the man two days later.

“This is just the case of a client who talked himself out of the problem and later found that those statements would bring him back to it,” Freishman said.

According to phone records, Greg McMichael called his former boss, District Attorney Jackie Johnson, shortly after the shooting. Johnson handed over the case to a prosecutor outside the town. Prosecutors quoted the civil arrest law by recommending no prosecution. A third prosecutor was considering the case when the video was released and handed over to the state.

Johnson was charged with a felony charge for violating her oath of office and a misdemeanor charge for obstructing police for her role in the investigation. Authorities released little information about Johnson’s actions, but said she never disclosed that she had asked a second prosecutor to advise police shortly after Arbury’s murder.

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Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.

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Their own words may have destined the men who killed Amado Arbury. WGN Radio 720

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