BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) 鈥� Jurors in the case of three white men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery deliberated for about six hours Tuesday without reaching a verdict as they weighed prosecution arguments that the defendants provoked the fatal confrontation against defense attorneys' insistence that their clients acted in self-defense.
After initially indicating they wanted to work into the evening, the jurors were soon dismissed by the judge with instructions to resume deliberations Wednesday morning.
鈥淲e are in the process of working to reach a verdict," the foreperson told Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley.
After more than two weeks of testimony and , the prosecution got the last word because it carries the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski spent two hours Tuesday morning hammering at defense attorneys鈥� attempts to blame the 25-year-old Black man for his own death. Defense attorneys said Arbery lashed out violently with his fists to resist a lawful citizen鈥檚 arrest by the defendants.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 claim self-defense if you are the unjustified aggressor,鈥� Linda Dunikoski told jurors in her final statement. 鈥淲ho started this? It wasn鈥檛 Ahmaud Arbery.鈥�
Dunikoski said Arbery's pursuers had 鈥渘o badge, no uniform, no authority" and were "just some strange guys in a white pickup truck." And she cited their own words to police immediately after the shooting, when they said they saw Arbery running but were unsure if he had committed a crime.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 make a citizen鈥檚 arrest because someone鈥檚 running down the street and you have no idea what they did wrong,鈥� Dunikoski said.
Once the prosecution wrapped up, Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley gave instructions to the on how to apply the law before the panel started deliberations at the Glynn County courthouse in the port city of Brunswick.
Arbery鈥檚 killing became part of a larger after a graphic video of his death leaked online two months later.
Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running through their subdivision on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William 鈥淩oddie鈥� Bryan, joined the chase and recorded the video of Travis McMichael opening fire as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for McMichael's shotgun.
No one was charged in the killing until Bryan鈥檚 video leaked and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. All three men are charged .
Dunikoski said Tuesday that the McMichaels and Bryan threatened Arbery both with their pickup trucks and by pointing a shotgun at him before the final confrontation in which Arbery threw punches and grabbed for the gun.
She noted that Bryan told police he used his truck to run Arbery into a ditch and cut off his route, while Greg McMichael told officers they had him 鈥渢rapped like a rat." The actions of both men, she said, directly contributed to Arbery's death.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter who actually pulled the trigger," Dunikoski said. 鈥淯nder the law, they鈥檙e all guilty.鈥�
She also said there was no evidence Arbery had committed crimes in the defendants鈥� neighborhood. She said he was never seen stealing anything the five times he was recorded by security cameras in an unfinished home under construction from which he was seen running.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got lumber, you鈥檝e got all this stuff,鈥� Dunikoski said. 鈥淢r. Arbery never shows up with a bag. He doesn鈥檛 pull up with a U-haul. ... All he does is wander around for a few minutes and then leave.鈥�
The prosecutor told jurors someone can only make a citizen鈥檚 arrest in 鈥渆mergency situations鈥� where a crime is happening 鈥渞ight then and there.鈥�
Defense attorneys objected to Dunikoski鈥檚 explanation of citizen鈥檚 arrest because they contend the McMichaels had reason to suspect Arbery had stolen items from the home. They said the owner discovered the items missing before he installed security cameras.
鈥淭his is a misstatement of the law and the argument is improper,鈥� Franklin Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, told the judge. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way we can fix it鈥� before the jury, he said, because defense attorneys finished their closing arguments Monday.
Attorney Jason Sheffield said his client, Travis McMichael, fired his shotgun in self-defense after Arbery charged at him, threw punches and tried to grab the weapon. Sheffield called Arbery's death a tragedy, but one that was his own fault.
Attorneys for the other two defendants blamed Arbery as well. Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, said Arbery 鈥渃hose to fight.鈥� Kevin Gough, who represents Bryan, questioned why Arbery didn't call for help if he was in danger.
鈥淢aybe that鈥檚 because Mr. Arbery doesn鈥檛 want help,鈥� Gough said.
Arbery had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing at the time to study to become an electrician like his uncles.
Russ Bynum, The Associated Press
