Third man arrested, charged with murder in death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
Authorities made a new arrest related to the Ahmaud Arbery murder case.
William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., who filmed cellphone footage of the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Arbery, was arrested on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment on Thursday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a release.
The 50-year-old was booked in the Glynn County jail.
On May 21, 2020, the GBI arrested William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., age 50, on charges of Felony Murder & Criminal Attempt to Commit False Imprisonment. Read the updated press release here ️:https://t.co/VJCuz8chVr pic.twitter.com/MXcs8qEY8m
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) May 21, 2020
This is the third arrest made in the case, which has garnered national attention.
Two white men were previously arrested more than two months after Arbery, a black man, was shot to death in February while on a jog in a Brunswick neighborhood.
Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested May 7 and charged with murder and aggravated assault. The GBI says the two confronted Arbery with firearms before Travis McMichael shot and killed him.
On Wednesday, the GBI said it executed a search warrant of the McMichael’s home but didn’t release any further details.
The video was investigated prior to their arrest, the GBI says.
Gregory McMichael told police he thought Arbery was a person they suspected of recent break-ins in the area, CNN reports. After the two chased Arbery down, George McMichael told police Arbery and his son struggled over Travis McMichael’s shotgun.
But Wanda Jones, Arbery’s mother, told CBS the cellphone footage shows her son wasn’t committing a crime.
“He was out for his daily jog and he was hunted down like an animal and killed,” Jones told CBS. “I’m hoping that all involved, they’re indicted and they go to jail.”
In an interview with Action News Jax, Bryan said he was just a witness and “had nothing to do with it.” But his lawyer wouldn’t allow him to answer questions about why he started recording the video or why he started driving behind Arbery.
His attorney, Kevin Gough, also made a statement Monday, saying he had results from a lie detector test Bryan took during the investigation, but that he would not release them himself, the outlet reports.
The GBI says it’s continuing to investigate the case along with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
