Ahmaud Arbery murder: Suspects plead not guilty
07/17/2020 9:37 am PDT
UPDATE:
The judge denied bond to William “Roddie” Bryan, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
UPDATE:
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced the agency opened a sex crime case against William Bryan. That investigation is unrelated to the Arbery case.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Jesse Evans, the lead prosecutor in the case, said the GBI opened “a parallel investigation into sex crimes” regarding an “unrelated offense.”
On Wednesday, July 15, 2020, the Glynn County Police Department requested that the GBI initiate a sex crimes investigation based on allegations made against William “Roddie” Bryan, Jr. The investigation is active and ongoing.
@GBI_GA
GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. (WSB) -- The three men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery appeared in court Friday morning in Brunswick.
A judge arraigned Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William Bryan on murder charges for Arbery's death. All three men pleaded not guilty.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Travis and Greg McMichael waived arraignment Friday morning. Bryan also waived a formal reading of the charges.
Judge Timothy Walmsley denied a motion, filed by Bryan's attorney Kevin Gough, requesting Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes be removed from the case.
Gough is also requesting bond be granted for Bryan.
Story will be updated.
William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., 50, was arrested on May 21 on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. Bryan recorded the confrontation that led to Arbery's shooting death in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia when father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael confronted Arbery with two firearms on February 23. During the encounter, Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery, investigators said.
The initial police report mentions Bryan: “Roddy attempted to block him, which was unsuccessful.” But Bryan denied being part of the confrontation that led to Arbery's death.
Travis McMichael, 34, and his father Greg McMichael, 64, were arrested for murder and aggravated assault on May 7. Greg McMichael, now retired, once worked as an investigator in Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson's office. Johnson recused herself from the case within days of the shooting.
TRUE CRIME DAILY: Ahmaud Arbery case coverage - TCD
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