BRUNSWICK, Ga. – A defense attorney for one of the three white men charged with murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery soundly denied a report Friday that he had asked prosecutors for a plea deal for his client.
A CNN report cited attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing Arbery’s mother, saying Merritt told the news outlet Kevin Gough, the attorney for William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., had requested the deal.
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CNN said the district attorney’s office declined to comment about being approached about a plea deal.
News4Jax asked Gough about the CNN report. His response was firm -- and colorful.
“That’s b*******. Denied, denied, denied. I don’t know what y’all are talking about. You go ask whoever your source is,” Gough said to the gaggle of reporters as he entered the Glynn County Courthouse on Friday.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley scheduled closing arguments in the trial for Monday, setting up the possibility of verdicts before Thanksgiving.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: The Ahmaud Arbery case
On Friday, Walmsley met with attorneys from both sides without the jury present to discuss the instructions that will be given to the jury before they begin deliberations, including what charges will be presented to the jury.
The defense and prosecutors argued Friday over whether a conspiracy charge should be included, and the judge said he’ll consider that.
Defense attorneys rested their case in the trial Thursday after calling just seven witnesses, including the shooter, Travis McMichael, who testified that Arbery did not threaten him in any way before he pointed his shotgun at the 25-year-old Black man.
Travis McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after he ran past their home from the house under construction. Bryan, a neighbor, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded cellphone video. Arbery’s killing deepened a national outcry over racial injustice after the video leaked online.
The cellphone video from the Feb. 23, 2020, shooting shows Arbery running around the back of the pickup truck after Travis McMichael first points the shotgun while standing next to the open driver’s side door. Arbery then runs around the passenger side as Travis McMichael moves to the front and the two come face to face. After that, the truck blocks any view of them until the first gunshot sounds.
Defense attorneys have argued that their clients were lawfully trying to stop burglaries in their neighborhood and that Travis McMichael opened fire in self-defense. Prosecutors say there’s no justification for what the men did and no evidence that Arbery had committed any crimes.
Travis McMichael’s testimony Wednesday marked the first time any of the three defendants has spoken publicly about the killing. The other two defendants did not testify.
Outside the Glynn County courthouse, hundreds of pastors gathered on Thursday, while Gough renewed his bid to keep Black ministers out of the courtroom. The Rev. Jesse Jackson again joined Arbery’s family in the courtroom, as he had on some other days this week. Walmsley declined to take the issue up again, noting he’d already rejected the same motion from Gough twice.
Gough first asked the judge last week to remove the Rev. Al Sharpton from the court, saying the civil rights activist was trying to influence the disproportionately white jury. He also has complained that activists outside the courthouse are trying to influence the jury with banners and signs, and likewise objected to the pastors’ rally.
“We had a huge protest at lunchtime that was so loud, with bullhorns literally 20 feet from the front door of this courthouse, that you could literally hear what was being said at the doors of this courtroom,” Gough told the judge.