Lawyers Say Ahmaud Arbery Should Have Complied With The ‘Lawful’ Arrest
William Bryan Jr., one of the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23, is now saying that the 25-year-old should have known that he was under a citizen's arrest and complied when armed Gregory and Travis McMichael tried to run him off the road and detain him.
“Arbery was not authorized to resist arrest when objectively speaking he knew that he was lawfully subject to arrest,” a court memo filed on behalf of Byran’s lawyers to the Superior Court Of Glynn County in the state of Georgia on Friday (July 17) says, according to The Daily Beast.
Bryan’s lawyers also claim in the court filing that Arbery was on probation for shoplifting and had been caught on CCTV walking through a construction site. Therefore, according to Bryan’s lawyer, he should have surrendered as soon as Bryan, Travis and Gregory McMichael approached him.
The memo claims that Travis McMichael shot Arbery three times in self-defense because he “suddenly turned and rushed.”
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, issued a victim impact statement: “My son actually ran around him. My son actually ran for his life, but William Bryan did not allow my son to go home.”
However, prosecutors allege that Arbery only fought back after trying to avoid being run over by the father and son. There was also no evidence that Arbery had committed a crime and the accusers clearly were not aware of him allegedly being on probation.
During the July 17 hearing, Bryan was denied bond after a judge said that he was a flight risk in response to the severity of his several charges.
William Bryan Jr. is being charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment charges. He also faces possible hate crime charges and is currently under investigation for newly surfaced sex crimes.
Bryan Jr. is reportedly accused of following Gregory and Travis McMichael in their truck as they drove behind Arbery armed with a handgun and shotgun. The McMichaels were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault on May 7, 73 days after Arbery was killed.
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