Georgia judge to consider bond for father, son in Ahmaud Arbery slaying
This photo combo of images taken Thursday, May 7, 2020, and provided by the Glynn County Detention Center, in Georgia, show Gregory McMichael, left, and his son Travis McMichael. A prosecutor on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 announced that three men have been indicted on murder charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia. Speaking to reporters outside the Glynn County courthouse, prosecutor Joyette Holmes said a grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. on charges including malice and felony murder in the death of the African American man. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)
Testing widget old system
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (NewsNation Now) — A Georgia judge is scheduled to consider bond requests by a father and son jailed on murder charges in the February shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.
Gregory McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael, were scheduled to appear Thursday morning before Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley. They also have asked the judge to reject two of the counts against them, including malice murder, saying they were charged in a legally flawed indictment.
The McMichaels have been jailed since their arrests in May, more than two months after Arbery was slain. The McMichaels, who are white, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after they spotted him running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick.
The killing stirred a national outcry in a year marked by protests over racial injustice. An investigator testified previously that a third defendant, who took cellphone video of the shooting, heard Travis McMichael, 34, utter a racial slur after he blasted Arbery three times with a shotgun.
Defense attorneys for the McMichaels have denied any racist motives in the shooting. Right after the Feb. 23 shooting, Gregory McMichael told police that he and his son armed themselves and got in a pickup truck to pursue Arbery because they suspected he was a burglar.
They weren’t arrested until the cellphone video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case. Prosecutors say Arbery was merely out jogging.
BRUNSWICK, GA – MAY 08: Demonstrators protest the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery at the Glynn County Courthouse on May 8, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael were arrested the previous night and charged with murder. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – MAY 08: Demonstrators hold signs at a memorial for Ahmaud Arbery near where he was shot and killed May 8, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael were arrested the previous night and charged with murder relating to the February 23 shooting in the Satilla Shores neighborhood. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – MAY 09: Demonstrators watch a parade of passing motorcyclists riding in honor of Ahmaud Arbery at Sidney Lanier Park on May 9, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in the nearby Satilla Shores neighborhood on February 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – JUNE 04: T-shirts memorializing George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are displayed for sale on a car hood outside the Glynn County courthouse during a court appearance by Gregory and Travis McMichael, two suspects in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, on June 4, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was killed on February 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – JULY 17: A mural depicting Ahmaud Arbery on July 17, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William ‘Roddie’ Bryan appeared before a judge for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
The video shows the truck stopping in the middle of a residential street and Travis McMichael getting out before Arbery tries to run around the vehicle. Arbery can be seen grappling with Travis McMichael over the shotgun and punching him before being shot at point-blank range.
In June, a grand jury indicted both McMichaels and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Travis McMichael’s attorneys, Robert Rubin and Jason Sheffield, wrote in court documents requesting bond that he lives with his parents, has a 3-year-old son and doesn’t have a passport. They cited his past service as a U.S. Coast Guard machine technician as proof of his character.
Gregory McMichael, 64, is a retired investigator for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit district attorney’s office and a former Glynn County police officer. His lawyers said in a legal filing that they plan to present evidence in court to show why he should be freed on bond.
The McMichaels’ attorneys are also asking the judge to reject the indictment’s malice murder charge, saying it was written in a way that improperly “charges two crimes in one count.” They made a similar argument for tossing out a charge of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Bryan was previously denied bond. His attorney has argued in court motions that the entire indictment should be dismissed.
The outside prosecutor assigned to the case, Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, was defeated in the Nov. 3 election. Holmes’ successor, Flynn Broady, will inherit the case, said Katie Byrd, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Chris Carr.
