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The third prosecutor in the case said he would present evidence to a grand jury that day and asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist him in the case. Within 48 hours, the GBI announced that it had arrested Travis McMichael, 34, the man who shot Arbery, and his father, Greg McMichael, a former Glynn County police officer and investigator.
Greg McMichael, 64, told police that he and his son took their weapons and chased Arbery in his truck, believing he was responsible for the robberies in his neighborhood, according to a police report. When confronted, the father told police that Arbery attacked Travis McMichael, who killed him while they were both fighting for his shotgun, according to the report.
CNN’s attempts to reach the McMichaels have been unsuccessful.
Here is the latest:
Where is the case?
What are the McMichaels accused of?
Are they still in the Glynn County Jail?
Yes. In a court appearance on Friday, a judge said bail would be decided at a later date. It is not clear if the McMichaels are represented by attorneys.
Why did the arrests take so long?
It’s not entirely clear, but reclusions by two district attorneys, one of whom called the McMichaels’ actions “perfectly legal,” certainly played a role.
Two Glynn County commissioners, one of whom, Paul Murphy, spoke to CNN, publicly said that local police told them that the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office, Jackie Johnson, ordered authorities not to an arrest.
Johnson called the accusation false and says the Glynn County Police Department should have requested assistance from GBI earlier. She recused herself the day after the murder, citing Greg McMichael’s 20-year tenure as an investigator in the office, and commissioners are now trying to “make excuses and ignore problems at the Glynn County Police Department. who they are ultimately responsible for, “she said.
The GBI said that no one asked for their help in the case until Tuesday (although the GCPD had previously requested the agency’s help with the threats it was receiving and with the leaking video).
Will there be more arrests?
Lawyers for Arbery’s family have called for the arrest of William Bryan, who filmed the video showing Arbery’s murder.
Bryan is not a vigilante, had no real relationship with the McMichaels, cooperated with police and provided them with a video of the murder, attorney Kevin Gough said. However, he has been vilified, received death threats and lost his job, the lawyer said.
The GBI has not charged Bryan with a crime, but director Vic Reynolds told reporters: “We investigated everyone involved in the case, including the person who filmed the video.”
Will federal authorities intervene?
“Our office does not comment on active investigations, nor does it even address whether those investigations are taking place or not,” said Barry Paschal, spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
“We are committed to a full and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the beginning,” Carr said. “The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement to state and federal level to find those answers. “
The investigation will include investigating communications between Brunswick and Waycross district attorneys, Carr said.
Lawyers representing the Arbery family say they appreciate a federal investigation.
“We are pleased that Georgia AG Chris Carr has officially asked the Department of Justice to investigate the handling and possible cover-up of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery,” the joint statement by attorneys S. Lee Merritt, Benjamin Crump and L. Chris Said Stewart. “We have requested the involvement of the Justice Department since we took this case for the first time. There are too many questions about how this case was handled and why it took 74 days for two of the killers to be arrested and charged for the death of Mr . Arbery. ” “
When is the trial?
That will be established at future court hearings. Before bringing a defendant to trial, he or she must be charged, and the District Attorney for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit Tom Durden may not present evidence before a grand jury until the coronavirus restrictions of the state Supreme Court are lifted on June 12.
Will it be tested in Glynn County?
It will be up to the McMichaels legal team to decide whether to push for a change of venue, which will ultimately be decided by a judge.
Who will process it?
Defenders have asked state attorney general Chris Carr to appoint a special prosecutor, but Carr appointed Durden last month after the other two prosecutors withdrew.
In his letter last week announcing his grand jury decision, Durden wrote: “Having no prior knowledge of the incident or any connection to any investigator or witness, I accepted the appointment to review the case and take what I deemed appropriate measures.”
Durden has not returned CNN calls for comment.
Why did the second prosecutor recuse himself?
Although Barnhill saw no conflict of interest in handling the Arbery case, he agreed to recuse himself at the request of Arbery’s mother, he said.
In resigning, he put forth a McMichaels defense, saying: 1) the father and son had “solid first-hand probable cause” as civilians to arrest Arbery; 2) apparently they were only seeking “to arrest and detain this criminal suspect until the police arrived”; 3) Arbery’s “mental health records and previous convictions” explain his alleged assault; 4) “McMichael was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself”; and 5) Arbery may have been shot while fighting for the shotgun.
What mental health history and convictions?
Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, denied that his son had mental health problems and told CNN: “There is nothing wrong with him.”
“The reference to … alleged high school conduct or shoplifting is absurd and has nothing to do with his murder,” said family attorney S. Lee Merritt.
What is the McMichaels defense?
How does the Georgia Citizen Arrest Law work?
Arbery committed a crime that day?
He has not been charged with one. His mother said that he had simply run out.
While Greg McMichael told police there had been a series of burglaries in the neighborhood, Glynn County Police Lt. Cheri Bashlor said there was only one: a weapon stolen from an unlocked vehicle outside the home of the McMichaels, in more than seven weeks before the shooting.
McMichael also said he saw Arbery inside a house that was being built, which is backed by video, but the home owner told CNN that he did not see Arbery commit any crime on the day of the shooting (although at least one not reported) The crime had been committed in the past by an unidentified perpetrator, he said).
“This video is consistent with the evidence we already know,” said Merritt. “Ahmaud Arbery took off running. He stopped at a property under construction where he did no illegal activity and remained alone for a short period.”
Could murder be treated as a hate crime?
CNN’s Jason Morris, Dakin Andone, Angela Barajas, Martin Savidge, Hollie Silverman, Erica Henry, and Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.
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