US grand jury indicts 3 men in Ahmaud Arbery murder

WASHINGTON

A US grand jury indicted three men Wednesday on murder charges in relation to the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes announced that father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William Bryan, are each being charged with nine counts.

All three men are each facing one count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

"This is another step forward in seeking justice for Ahmaud," Holmes said in a statement. "Our team from the Cobb Judicial Circuit has been committed to effectively bringing forward the evidence in this case, and today was no exception."

"We will continue to be intentional in the pursuit of justice for this family and the community at large as the prosecution of this case continues."

Attorney Ben Crump, who is part of the Arbery family's legal team, hailed the announcement as "MONUMENTAL in getting #JusticeForAhmaud!!"

Richard Dial, the lead investigator in Arbery's case, said earlier this month that Bryan told investigators Travis McMichael used a racial epithet after shooting him, saying "f*****g n****r" some time after firing his shotgun multiple times on Feb. 23, killing Arbery. The slur was made before police arrived on the scene.

Dial, who is with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, further laid out the events that led to the fatal shooting, saying neither McMichael nor his father Gregory called 911 before they armed themselves and got into a truck to chase down Arbery after they saw him running near their house.

Arbery attempted to flee from the men, dodging their truck, running backwards and engaging in what Dial said was an escape attempt. Bryan then went to get his keys, got in his truck and gave chase alongside the McMichaels, Dial said, noting that Bryan also did not call 911.

At one point, Arbery was hit by Bryan's truck as he attempted to get away, Dial testified.

In a cellphone video posted online that appears to show the shooting, a black man in athletic attire is seen jogging in a residential area. As he nears a white pickup truck stopped in the middle of the road, he veers to the side as a man who appears to be white stands by the driver's side door while another stands in the truck bed.

The jogger then tries to run around the passenger side of the vehicle when a gunshot rings out off camera and a scuffle ensues, with the jogger attempting to wrangle what appears to be a shotgun from the man who was standing near the driver's side door.

A second shot then rings out as the jogger takes a swing at the man followed by a third shot fired at the jogger at point-blank range, sending him stumbling away before he collapses to the ground.

Gregory and Travis McMichael said they suspected Arbery of being involved in neighborhood break-ins.

Bryan’s footage brought the fatal shooting to the national spotlight. He was arrested late last month and charged with murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Arbery was first shot in the center of his chest before engaging Travis McMichael, who shot him again in his upper left chest and his wrist, Dial said.

Dial ruled out the possibility that Travis McMichael could have been acting in self-defense, saying he believes it was Arbery who was doing so.

"Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran till he couldn't run anymore," he said. "Mr. Arbery's decision was to just try to get away, and when he felt like he could not escape, he chose to fight."