The trial for the three men accused in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery’s death continues Monday, opening the first full week of witness testimony.
Arbery was fatally shot in the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020. Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan are all charged with murder in the 25-year-old’s death.
On Friday, state prosecutors and the attorneys defending the three men gave opening statements and called their first witness to the stand. Court proceedings resumed at 9 a.m. following a weekend recess.
[4:50 p.m.]: Jackson has been dismissed for the day. Court is in recess for the day. Proceedings will resume at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
[4:31 p.m.]: A court recess was followed by a discussion between state prosecutors and the attorneys defending the three men accused in Ahmaud Arbery’s death. Upon completion of that discussion, the jury was brought back into the courtroom and seated.
Officer Adam Tyler Jackson was called to the stand as the third witness of the day. State prosecutor Linda Dunikoski opens by asking Jackson about his position as an officer in the Glynn County Police Department.
Jackson said on Feb. 23, 2020, he was patrolling near Jesup when he heard former officer Ricky Minshew say that shots had been fired over his radio. He went to the scene to assist in the response.
[3:06 p.m.]: Ricky Minshew’s testimony is complete and he has been released for the day. The court has entered a 15-minute recess.
[1:49 p.m.]: Witness testimony has continued with the defense attorneys for Travis McMichael cross-examining former police officer Ricky Minshew.
[1:15 p.m.]: The court has returned from lunch recess. The jury has reentered the courtroom.
[12:15 p.m.]: Court is in recess for lunch.
[11 a.m.]: The second witness to the stand is former Glynn County police officer Ricky Minshew, who was the first police officer to arrive in Satilla Shores after Arbery was shot. State prosecutor Larissa Ollivierre opens the questioning.
“When I first come in the neighborhood I didn’t hear anything,” Minshew said. “As I go on down Satilla Drive I heard two loud pop sounds, within a couple of seconds apart.”
Minshew said he knew it was either fireworks or the sound of a gun. He drove up to the intersection of Satilla Drive and Holmes Road and saw two white men, later identified as Greg and Travis McMichael. Then, he saw a Black man laying in the middle of the road. The man, later identified as Ahmaud Arbery, was covered in blood.
The officer said he heard Arbery breathing in what he described as a death rattle. He did not attempt CPR. He told state prosecutors he didn’t have the right medical training or medical supplies to provide Arbery with any help.
“When I got there, I didn’t know any of the or the facts and circumstances as to what happened,” Minshew said. “The only thing I knew, I observed a body laying in the middle of the roadway that had just bled out and it was by apparent gunfire. So being as I was the only officer on the scene, without having any other police units to watch my back, there was no other officers to watch my back there was no way I could switch my attention to anything medical and still be able to watch my surroundings, watch out for my own safety.”
[9:19 a.m.]: The first witness called to the stand is Glynn County Police Department Investigator Sheila Ramos. Ramos told state prosecutor Paul Camarillo that she took photos of the crime scene after Ahmaud Arbery was shot in the Satilla Shores neighborhood.
Jurors play close attention as Ramos describes the photos, a mixture of closeups, long- and medium-range pictures showing the location of the shotgun, shotgun shells and bloodstained pavement in relation to Arbery’s body.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, sighs deeply as Ramos identifies closeups of a gaping gunshot wound in the slain man’s chest. His father, Marcus Arbery, left the courtroom in anticipation of the graphic crime scene photos.
[9 a.m.]: Judge Timothy Walmsley has taken the stand. Court proceedings have begun.
