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Ahmaud Arbery death trial live updates: Jury sent home, state rebuttal set for Tuesday
Arbery was fatally shot on Feb. 23, 2020, in Satilla Shores, Georgia.
A jury is expected to begin deliberating the fates of three white Georgia men charged in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery after first hearing final arguments on Monday that the 25-year-old Black man was either "hunted down" and murdered or was killed in self-defense when he resisted a citizens' arrest.
The radically different theories based on the same evidence are being laid out in closing arguments on Monday in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia. The closing arguments are expected to take all day as the prosecutor and attorneys for the three defendants are each expected to speak to the jury.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday morning.
Travis McMichael, the 35-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, a retired Glynn County police officer, and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 53, each face maximum sentences of life in prison if convicted on all the charges.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to a nine-count state indictment that includes malice murder, multiple charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a 12-gauge shotgun and aggravated assault with their pickup trucks.
The McMichaels and Bryan were also indicted on federal hate crime charges in April and have all pleaded not guilty.
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Jury sent home for the night
After Gough wrapped up his closing argument, Dunikoski informed the judge that she'd need another two hours to present her rebuttal argument.
Judge Walmsley polled the jury and they said they didn't want to stay longer.
Dunikoski will present her rebuttal argument on Tuesday morning before the jury is given final instructions on the law and sent to begin deliberations.
Court will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, about a half-hour earlier than usual.
Bryan was led by 'divine providence' to record shooting, attorney says
Gough took the jury almost frame-by-frame through Bryan's cellphone video of the shooting. Stopping and starting the footage, he pointed out that Bryan at one point was only driving 2 mph during the chase of Arbery, that his leg was shaking and his breathing was labored due to fear.
He said at another point in the video that Bryan is heard saying "I'm gonna keep going." Gough suggested that Bryan was giving up the pursuit and heading home after Arbery had run past his truck followed by the McMichaels.
Gough showed the jury a part of the video in which Bryan appears to be driving in the opposite direction of Arbery before turning around and taking a shorter route toward his home only to find himself in a position to document the shooting.
"I'm going to suggest to you that perhaps, and I know I'll get grief for this, I would say to you that you can call it karma, you can call it fate, I would call it divine providence, somebody is guiding Mr. Bryan," Gough said. "Whether it's a conscious thought process or not, something is guiding Mr. Bryan down this street to document what's going on."
'Without Roddie Bryan, there is no case,' attorney says
William "Roddie" Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, began his summation by telling the jury that his client never knew the McMichaels brought guns to chase Arbery or that he was aware that Travis McMichaels was going to shoot Arbery.
"The inconvenient truth is that Roddie Bryan did not know and could not know that these men were armed until moments before Mr. Arbery's tragic death," Gough said. "He did not know that Arbery would be shot and by that time, sadly, there was nothing Roddie Bryan could do to prevent this tragedy."
Gough said that from the get-go, Byan cooperated with the police, providing several statements, his home security video and the now-famous cellphone video he took that captured part of the fatal shooting.
"Ladies and gentlemen, without Roddie Bryan, there is no case," Gough said.
Gough said Bryan had no lawyer present when police first interviewed him.
"These actions, ladies and gentlemen, only demonstrate good faith, his conduct (is) negative of any inference of criminal intent."
Bryan's attorney raises concerns over 'Black Panthers' outside courthouse
Before giving his closing argument, William "Roddie" Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, made a motion for a mistrial based on activities he said were happening outside the courtroom.
"Protesters, whether they were the Black Panthers group or some other group were behind the barriers in front of the courthouse ... there was a truck carrying a coffin with the names of the defendants on it," Gough told Judge Timothy Walmsley.
Gough alleged the Black Panthers have specifically said "their specific objective was to influence the proceedings in this case."
He said "large weapons, apparently automatic weapons" were also seen outside the courthouse.
"I don't know whether they intended to scare the defendants but I have co-counsel with a small child who is scared to death," Gough said.
Walmsley denied the motion saying he's been given no indication that things were getting out-of-hand outside the courtroom and that there was no evidence the jurors were exposed to anything intimidating.