Neighbor, 50, who filmed Ahmaud Arbery shooting charged with MURDER along with ex-officer and son
THE neighbor who filmed Ahmaud Abery being shot dead by two white men while he was jogging was arrested on Thursday and charged with murder.
William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., 50, was arrested on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment, Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced.
Two men – Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis, 34 – were previously arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault earlier this month, after cellphone footage was leaked that appeared to show the pair .
Bryan, a neighbor of the McMichaels, was responsible for capturing the cellphone footage of the incident.
Bryan's arrest comes after;
The pursuit , the report claimed.
Gough said that Bryan had taken a lie detector test, stating that though such a test is not considered admissible in court, it does show Bryan was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
LIE DETECTOR TEST
The attorney also noted that the test showed his client did not have any conversation with Gregory or Travis McMichael prior to the shooting and was not privy to any plan to take a life.
He pointed out that Bryan began recording shortly before the McMichaels had stopped Arbery with their truck.
Gough, who said Bryan had cooperated with police since the beginning, stated: "Without his video there would be no case."
Since the incident began to received national attention, Gough said, Bryan Jr. had received death threats.
The attorney added: "Y'all have put a target on his back."
Gregory and Travis McMichael told police they pursued Arbery after spotting him running in their neighborhood, according to the initial police report.
McMichaels reportedly posted the photo of because she is a fan of "true crime."
This revelation came days after Lindsay, 30, revealed that she was at home in her pajamas when she heard the gunshots and commotion outside her house.
Gregory and Travis said they thought Arbery matched the description of someone caught on a security camera committing recent break-ins in the area.
The father, an ex-cop, also claimed Arbery had attacked his son before he was fatally shot in February.
Gregory McMichael had previously worked as a police officer with Glynn County and retired from working as an investigator with Brunswick district attorney's office in 2019.
Larry English, the owner of the property that security camera footage shows Arbery visiting shortly before he died, said last week the jogger may have stopped there to drink from a water source on the construction site.
The shooting has fueled fierce debate over the 25-year-old's death, leading people to claim the act was racially motivated.
Attorney Franklin Hogue, hired to defend Gregory McMichael, said at a recent news conference: "The truth will reveal this is not just another act of violent racism."
"Greg McMichael did not commit murder. Greg McMichael is not a party to the crime of murder."
Defense lawyers for McMichael said on Friday that they have examined evidence that "tells a very different story" about the victim, with attorney Laura Hogue telling reporters: "There is more than one video of the incident."
Arbery's mother said that her son was merely out jogging the day he was shot, and family lawyers said the footage of Arbery at the construction site shows he is committing no crimes.
Attorneys for Arbery's parents said: "There were frequently people on the construction site both day and night."