RELATED: Day 4 Live Updates, Wednesday Nov. 10
The third day of testimony in the trial of three men charged in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery continues Tuesday, with more officers who responded to the fatal shooting expected to take the stand.
Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, are on trial for murder and other charges in the Feb. 23, 2020 death of Arbery in Brunswick. The three men contend they were trying to make a citizen’s arrest because they suspected Arbery of entering a home under construction in their Satilla Shores neighborhood following a string of break-ins. State prosecutors have countered that claim, stating that while Arbery was seen in the home on multiple occasions, he never took anything.
Here are the latest updates from inside the courtroom:
[5:08 p.m.]: Marcy has been released. Court is in recess for the day.
[4:46 p.m.]: Dunikoski asks Marcy about records he compiled of instances where police were called to Satilla Shores for burglaries. When she asks if Arbery was a suspect in any of those incidents, he replies: “No.”
[4:44 p.m.]: Cross-examination continued after a recess. The defense has passed the witness back to the state.
[4:22 p.m.]: The court has entered a brief recess. Cross-examination is still underway.
[2:56 p.m.]: Attorney Frank Hogue, who is defending Greg McMichael, is cross-examining Marcy.
[2:40 p.m.]: Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski shows Officer Parker Marcy a video taken by a neighbor in the Satilla Shores neighborhood. In it, Ahmaud Arbery can be seen going into the home under construction. Later in the video, the neighbor appears and disappears. Arbery can then be seen leaving the home under construction and running down the street.
Marcy confirms that he’s able to see two people getting into a white truck and heading off in the same direction Arbery went roughly a minute and a half later. The video shows a Georgia Power truck go by, and then emergency medical services and a fire truck pull into the scene, driving in the same direction that Arbery went.
Then, the Georgia Power truck returns and stops at the home under construction. The driver gets out and uses a port-a-potty located outside the home.
“Where is Mr. Arbery at this time?” Dunikoski asks Marcy.
Marcy notes he would have to account for the time difference, but he believes Arbery is interacting with the McMichaels and Bryan.
“Is Mr. Arbery lying dead at this time?” Dunikoski says, before defense attorney Jason Sheffield stands and objects to the statement. Sheffield tells Judge Timothy Walmsley the statement is not relevant.
“It’s relevant because lots of other people are coming onto the property ... and Mr. Arbery is dead,” Dunikoski replies.
Walmsley sustains the objection, and the jury is instructed to disregard Dunikoski’s statement.
[1:51 p.m.]: Dunikoski shows videos of Ahmaud Arbery walking around the home under construction on Satilla Drive. In it, Arbery is wearing a white T-shirt and shorts. The home is incomplete inside, with wooden beams and studs standing where walls would be.
“What is Mr. Arbery doing in (this clip)?” Dunikoski asks Marcy.
“Walking around, looking at the construction,” Marcy says.
[1:39 p.m.]: Linda Dunikoski continues to question Officer Parker Marcy.
[1:35 p.m.]: Court is back in session following a lunch recess.
[12:14 p.m.]: The jury has been escorted out of the courtroom for additional discussion. Attorney Kevin Gough, who defends William “Roddie” Bryan, has filed a motion for mistrial, citing violations of the Bruton rule. The judge has denied the motion.
The court has entered an hour-long recess for lunch.
[11:50 a.m.]: Dunikoski asked Marcy to read a line from the transcript of his interview with McMichael regarding what the man had shouted to Arbery while he and his son were chasing him on Holmes Road.
Marcy read verbatim: “I said ‘stop,’ you know, ‘I’ll blow your (expletive) head off,’ or something. I was trying to convey to this guy we are not playing.”
The witness clarifies that McMichael did not say specifically where on Holmes Road he was when he said that to Arbery.
[11:43 a.m.]: Dunikoski asks Marcy to recount, from the interview transcript, how Greg McMichael was able to recognize Ahmaud Arbery as the man who had entered the house under construction. Marcy says McMichael had been shown videos and photos from another neighbor.
“He said, quoting him: ‘Yes, and he shows me what the guy looks like, because I had never seen him. So, I had heard a description of him, or maybe I had seen him. I don’t know.’”
Dunikoski then asks if McMichael had mentioned knowing that Arbery had stolen anything out of the house. Marcy replies that McMichael said he didn’t recall Arbery ever taking anything.
[11:39 a.m.]: After taking photos of Travis McMichael, Marcy encountered his father, Greg McMichael in the lobby of the police headquarters. The detective began interviewing McMichael about 3 p.m. Linda Dunikoski guides Marcy through a transcript of the interview.
When Dunikoski asks if Greg McMichael had mentioned knowing William Bryan, Marcy responds, reading from the transcript: “Yes, he said he’s known Roddie Bryan for years. He is a mechanic.”
[11:15 a.m.]: The jury has been reseated and the state has called its next witness, Detective Parker Marcy. Marcy says he is an investigator at the Glynn County Police Department and has been in law enforcement for 10 years. He tells the state he works with video footage and does forensic investigating. Marcy says he had worked as a patrol officer in Satilla Shores in 2013.
On Feb. 23, 2020, Marcy was at the Glynn County police headquarters when Travis McMichael arrived after the fatal shooting, still covered in blood. Marcy took additional photos of McMichael. Linda Dunikoski shows the photos Marcy took, which show blood on both of McMichael’s arms.
[11:10 a.m.]: Court is back in session.
[10:54 a.m.]: Officer Jeff Bandeberry has been released for the day, subject to recall. The court has entered a 15-minute recess.
[10:08 a.m.]: The state has passed the witness, Officer Jeff Brandeberry, to the defense. Frank Hogue begins to cross-examine the officer. Hogue and his co-counsel, Laura Hogue, are the attorneys defending Greg McMichael in the murder trial. Hogue asks Brandeberry to clarify that McMcMichael told him his account of the events that had taken place on Feb. 23 multiple times.
[9:59 a.m.]: Dunikoski asks about the numerous times Brandeberry’s interview with McMichael was interrupted. She asks specifically about an unknown man who walked up to McMichael during the police interview and said he was concerned that the person who had entered the home under construction was a homeless man who stayed nearby.
Brandeberry, still reading the transcript of his conversation with McMichael, says the man replied it wasn’t the homeless man.
“This guy’s an (expletive),” McMichael said, according to the transcript.
“How far away were you from the dead body of Ahmaud Arbery when he called him an (expletive)?” Dunikoski asks.
“About 20 or 30 feet,” Brandeberry replies.
[9:44 a.m.]: Brandeberry says Greg McMichael had blood on his left hand when they met. He tells the state that during his interview with McMichael, the man said the blood came from touching Ahmaud Arbery to determine if he had a gun. Brandeberry reads a transcript of the interview with McMichael, recounting his conversation with the defendant.
[9:26 a.m.]: The jury has been seated. Glynn County police officer Jeff Brandeberry has been called to the stand. State prosecutor Linda Dunikoski opens by asking him about his history with the Glynn police department. Brandeberry was a patrol officer on Feb. 23, 2020. He had worked for the police department before, but had left and returned at the time of the fatal shooting.
Brandeberry was on his second shift after returning to the GCPD. He tells the state he was out responding to a domestic violence call when he learned about shots being fired in the Satilla Shores neighborhood. He responded to Satilla Shores shortly after.
“Have you ever testified in a trial before,” Dunikoski asks?
“Not with a jury before, no ma’am,” Brandeberry says. “Certainly not on TV.”
Brandeberry says he interviewed Greg McMichael when he arrived on the scene and the interaction was captured by his body camera.
[9:08 a.m.]: Judge Timothy Walmsley is seated.
