Lawyer petitions judge to disqualify Cobb DA from Arbery murder case
Mar. 5—The attorney for one of the men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery contends prosecutors are biased against his client.
Brunswick Attorney Kevin Gough filed a motion Monday in Glynn County Superior Court demanding the Cobb County District Attorney's Office step down from prosecuting the case against his client, William "Roddie" Bryan.
Bryan, 51, Travis McMichael, 35, and Gregory McMichael, 65, all are in jail awaiting trial on murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment charges in connection with the shooting death of the 25-year-old Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020.
Gough claims new Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady made the prosecution of the Arbery case a part of his successful campaign to defeat incumbent DA Joyette Holmes in November. Gough said Broady emphasized the importance of the case in videos, tweets and Facebook posts, as well as other campaign formats.
Gough further questioned Holmes' ability to show impartiality toward Gregory McMichael in light of previous contact between him and the DA's office.
Attorney General Chris Carr appointed the Cobb DA to prosecute the case last May shortly after the GBI arrested the three defendants.
Gough notes that the Cobb County DA office had worked on trial cases in Brunswick with Gregory McMichael, a retired investigator with more than 20 years' experience with the Brunswick Judicial Circuit.
Immediately after being appointed to prosecute the case last May, the Cobb DA's office revealed its professional contacts with McMichael. The Cobb team prosecuting Justin Ross Harris for murder in Glynn County in 2016 had "professional interactions" with McMichael and other Brunswick DA employees.
The following year, McMichael helped the Cobb DA track down a person in Glynn County who was needed to testify in a trial in Atlanta.
The Cobb DA has stated that these interactions with McMichael will in no way hinder its ability to prosecute him, his son Travis McMichael or Bryan.
Gough's motion seems to suggest that Holmes' office gave short shrift to Bryan's potential as a witness rather than a defendant in the trial against the McMichaels.
Arbery ran past Bryan's house on Burford Road the afternoon of Feb. 23 with the McMichaels, both armed, pursuing him in a pickup truck. After asking the father and son if they needed help, Bryan jumped in his pickup truck and joined the pursuit.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents said Bryan used his truck to block Arbery's escape on several occasions, thus committing crimes that ultimately contributed to his death.
But Gough noted the key video that Bryan took as he followed Arbery toward a final showdown with the McMichaels, who had stopped the truck in the middle of the road. The cellphone video shows Travis McMichael shooting the unarmed Arbery three times at close range with buckshot from a 12-gauge shotgun as the two men struggled for possession of the weapon.
Unarmed, Arbery died on the street near the intersection of Burford Road and Satilla Drive moments later.
Investigators have the video, which Bryan shared with Glynn County police shortly after the deadly shooting.
"Mr. Bryan, as the court will surely recall, made the video and is the only eye witness to the shooting," Gough wrote in the motion. "Ms. Holmes played down such concerns in several media reports ... "
Gough filed two more motions Monday. One motion asserted Bryan's right to require those presenting testimony against him to do so in person rather than via video. The motions appear to be in reference to previous preliminary courtroom proceedings in which some witnesses appeared via video, a precautionary measure due to the COVID 19 outbreak.
In another motion filed Monday, Gough said his client will waive previous speedy trial violation motions and immunity motions "provided that the jury trial of this case commences no later than Friday, May 28, 2021."
