BRUNSWICK — After receiving his summons in the mail last month, Juror 353 decided to research the case. He scoured news articles, watched footage of the shooting dozens of times, and even drove through Satilla Shores, the neighborhood where Ahmaud Arbery was killed last year.
The potential juror wanted to get the “lay of the land,” circling the neighborhood several times. He even drove to the spot where the 25-year-old Arbery collapsed in the road and took his last breaths.
No. 353, who is white, acknowledged Monday that before getting called in for jury duty, he didn’t know much about the widely publicized case in which an unarmed Black man was chased by three white men, then fatally shot.
After reading coverage in the local newspaper, watching the responding officers’ body camera footage online, and speaking with some of his co-workers, No. 353 said he didn’t think the three defendants charged in Arbery’s death are guilty of murder.
He called the shooting an “unplanned escalation” and said certain charges are appropriate. But he stressed repeatedly in court that he doesn’t believe what happened on that Sunday afternoon rises to the level of murder.
“I see some responsibility for what eventually occurred with all the parties involved, not just one group or the other,” the man said. “I think both parties involved contributed to the outcome.”
Jury selection continued into the third week on Monday as attorneys look to qualify 64 prospective jurors ahead of opening statements. Once that group is formed, prosecutors will exercise their allotted strikes, narrowing the pool to 12 jurors and at least four alternates before the trial can begin in earnest.
Of the 1,000 Glynn County residents summoned for jury duty in the high-profile case, fewer than half showed up, said Jason Sheffield, one of the attorneys representing Travis McMichael in the murder trial. Jury selection could conclude by midweek, with opening statements set to start as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.
McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan face murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment charges in the Feb. 23, 2020, shooting. The McMichaels strongly contest those charges, contending they jumped into Travis’ truck, chased and tried to detain Arbery under Georgia’s then-existing citizen’s arrest law because they suspected Arbery of entering a nearby home that was under construction.
Bryan, who joined the pursuit in his own pickup, recorded the widely shared cellphone footage of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery during a struggle over a shotgun in the middle of the street.
Juror 353 said the video shows only a portion of what happened that day, and he said he could consider a self-defense argument at trial.
“I’m looking at the charge of murder. I think that’s pretty serious,” the man said when asked about Travis McMichael. “I don’t think that was his intent. I hate this happened. It’s sad and it could have been avoided. It should have been avoided.”
But unless there is “some very profound, very obvious, very undeniable evidence” presented at trial, No. 353 said he would have trouble convicting all three defendants of murder. He was ultimately struck from the jury pool.
Such opinions have been few in this community of about 85,000, where just about everyone is familiar with the case and many know the defendants or knew Arbery. The majority of prospective jurors who’ve expressed strong opinions about the case have said they think the defendants are guilty as charged.
Another potential juror questioned Monday morning, said he thought the McMichaels and Bryan are innocent and should be acquitted.
“I don’t see they done anything wrong,” said Juror No. 344, who is also white. “I think they done it in self-defense.”
The man said he thinks the news media “hyped up” the case and made it about race.
“I just think the whole case has been turned into a racial thing,” he said, “another one of those things you see on the news — Black man killed by a white man. That’s what I see.”
He was quickly dismissed after saying he didn’t think he could be impartial. “I made up my mind about it,” he said.
Juror No. 361, a Black man who hunts on the weekends, said he has negative opinions of all three defendants.
He likened Arbery to a deer and the McMichaels and Bryan to the hunters, saying something a friend told him shortly after the video surfaced sticks out in his mind.
“The way he put it was: ‘Same thing we do in the woods on Saturday,’” the man said. “It immediately registered as a negative thing.”
He was also dismissed.
Another potential juror, No. 368, looked up the video with his wife shortly after it was released. But he called it “inconclusive” because they couldn’t tell what led to the deadly encounter. Bryan’s cellphone footage, he said, hasn’t swayed his opinion either way.
“Inconclusive is still the best word for me,” he told prosecutors.
While some people at his job discuss the case and believe race played a major factor in the killing, he said he thought the widespread demonstrations associated with the case were overblown.
“I see racism. I still see some here and there,” said No. 368, who came to court wearing an American flag face mask. “I usually just try to ignore it.”
He was among six potential jurors qualified on Monday evening, bringing the number of qualified jurors in the case to 60. One woman who was qualified on Friday was dismissed Monday morning because of child care issues.
Jury selection resumes Tuesday morning.
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