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The Ahmaud Arbery case will go to the jury after prosecutors get the last word

Defendant Travis McMichael testifies under cross-examination by prosecutor Linda Dunikoski at the Glynn County Courthouse last week in Brunswick, Georgia.
Sean Rayford
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Defendant Travis McMichael testifies under cross-examination by prosecutor Linda Dunikoski at the Glynn County Courthouse last week in Brunswick, Georgia.

Attorneys have started making their final pitches to the jury in the trial of the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia last year.

Travis McMichael, his father, Greg, and their neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan have all been charged with Arbery's murder.

The defendants say they were making a legal citizen's arrest under Georgia law. Travis McMichael, who fired the shots that killed Arbery, said he was acting in self-defense.

The high-profile shooting helped spark protests for racial justice in the summer of 2020. All three defendants are white, and Arbery was Black.

Travis McMichael took the stand in his defense for two days last week, but lawyers for Greg McMichael and Bryan did not call any witnesses in their defense.

What are the charges McMichael faces?

A grand jury indicted Gregory and Travis McMichael and William Bryan on nine criminal counts in Georgia state court, including felony murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment.

The June 2020 indictment accuses the men of using their pickup trucks to chase and assault Arbery before killing him with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Who are the defendants in the case?

Gregory McMichael, 65, worked in law enforcement for decades, including a long stint as an investigator for the district attorney's office in Brunswick. After spotting Arbery, McMichael later told police, he grabbed his .357 Magnum pistol and told his son, "Travis, the guy is running down the street. Let's go."

Travis McMichael, 35, shot and killed Arbery with a 12-gauge shotgun after chasing him in his Ford F-150 pickup. He is a former member of the Coast Guard.

William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, is the neighbor who jumped into his Chevrolet Silverado pickup to help chase Arbery. He used his cellphone to record video of the final moments of the confrontation.

Ten weeks passed between Arbery's death and the first arrests in the case, after a video of the killing became public.

Who are the judge, prosecutors and defense?

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley is presiding over the trial at the Glynn County Courthouse. The Eastern Judicial Circuit judge was given the case after all five judges in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit recused themselves. Walmsley was appointed to the bench in February 2012.

Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski is the senior assistant district attorney in Cobb County, outside of Atlanta. She was put in charge of the case in April, after two local prosecutors recused themselves.

Defense attorney Kevin Gough of Brunswick has represented Bryan since his arrest. Attorney Jessica Burton of Atlanta is also on Bryan's defense team.

Defense attorneys Robert Rubin and Jason Sheffield represent Travis McMichael. They're from the same Atlanta-area law firm.

Defense attorneys Laura and Franklin Hogue, who are married, represent Greg McMichael. They're based in Macon, Ga., where they've handled numerous death-penalty cases.

Along with the state charges, a federal grand jury indicted the McMichaels and Bryan on hate crime charges in April.

The federal charges also include the attempted kidnapping of Arbery, and the McMichaels are charged with using firearms during a violent crime. A February trial date has been slated for those charges.

NPR's Bill Chappell contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Joe Hernandez
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.