Additional footage has surfaced after Georgia man Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down in a neighborhood earlier this year, while reportedly out jogging.
On February 23, shortly before 25-year-old Arbery was shot and killed in a residential neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia, a man reportedly matching his description was spotted inside an open construction home in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, near Brunswick.
The man was in the home for less than three minutes and appeared to come out empty-handed before running off.
Within minutes, retired district attorney investigator Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, began following Arbery in their truck. Around the same time, someone called 911 and reported a man inside the construction home.
911 dispatcher: “And you said someone is breaking into it right now?
Caller: “No. It’s all open, it’s under construction. And he’s running right now! There he goes right now.”
911 dispatcher: “OK. What is he doing?”
Caller: “He’s running down the street.”
A little before 1:40 p.m., McMichael and his son stopped their truck in the middle of the street and waited for Arbery. As Arbery approached and tried to run around the truck, a scuffle broke out. Travis McMichael, who had gotten out of the truck with a shotgun, began fighting with Arbery.
Gregory McMichael, who was standing in the bed of the truck with a .357 Magnum, later told police they brought their guns because they didn’t know at the time whether Arbery was armed. Reports indicated that Arbery was unarmed.
Within minutes, Arbery was shot in the abdomen and killed by Travis McMichael’s shotgun.
According to NBC 3, additional security footage appears to show a man that matches Arbery’s description inside the construction home on several different occasions. The homeowner provided the videos that dated back to October 2019.
Officials have not confirmed that the man spotted on the videos was indeed Arbery. Regardless, former Fulton County prosecutor Manny Arora, who reviewed the security footage, told AJC that entering an open construction property isn’t necessarily considered a crime unless the man took something.
Further, Arora added that although Georgia law accepts citizen’s arrest for crimes, it’s only if a crime is committed in the presence of the person trying to make the arrest. The citizen making the arrest cannot use deadly force unless their life is in danger.
Authorities said McMichaels initiated the confrontation by chasing Arbery with loaded guns. Police were not far from the scene when the shooting occurred.
Former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore, told Fox News that the security footage “has no impact at all on the outcome of the shooting.”
“He’s not reported to have been seen carrying a drill set, a toolbox, a nail gun, anything you might think of, not even seen breaking in the place. He’s just seen running down the road…He tried to protect himself and ended up being the victim here in what can only be called a modern-day lynching, I think.”
Last week, police arrested both Gregory and Travis McMichael and charged them with felony murder and aggravated assault. They remain behind bars without bail.
“Probable cause was clear to our agents pretty quickly,” GBI Director Vic Reynolds said during a Friday morning press conference. “I’m very comfortable in telling you there’s more than sufficient probable cause in charging felony murder.”
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Ahmaud Arbery Police Report by Leigh Egan on Scribd
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[Feature Photo: Ahmaud Arbery/Handout; Greg and Travis McMichael/Facebook]
