1st day of trial wraps up in Ahmaud Arbery murder case after controversy over jury

Rubin said that on the day of the shooting, a neighbor saw Arbery go into the house under construction and make eye contact with the man.

He said Arbery bolted from the house and ran at the pace of a 6-minute mile. Rubin said Gregory McMichael saw Arbery and recognized him from videos neighbors shared of the unidentified man who had been seen multiple times at the home construction site.

Rubin said the older McMichael went into the house and told his son that the man they had been on alert for just ran by. He said Travis McMichael grabbed his shotgun because he feared the man might be armed because of what occurred on his previous encounter with him.

He said that when the McMichaels caught up to Arbery in their truck, Travis McMichael told the man they just wanted to talk to him to find out what he was doing in the neighborhood, but that Arbery said nothing and continued to run.

Rubin said the McMichaels had every right under the state's citizen's arrest law to detain Arbery for the police, adding, "When seconds count, police are often minutes away."

He acknowledged that Travis McMichael parked his truck and got out with his shotgun when he saw Arbery running away from Bryan's truck and back toward him. He said Travis McMichael called 911 on his cellphone and handed it to his father as Arbery charged toward him, ignoring orders to stop.

"Before the first shot is fired they called the police. That is not intent to commit murder," Rubin said.

He said Travis McMichael raised his gun at Arbery from 20 yards away because "that is how you de-escalate violence."

"If he wanted to kill him this is an open shot," Rubin said.

Rubin said Arbery moved to the opposite side of the pickup away from Travis McMichael and then came around the front of the truck and lunged at the armed man, trying to take his gun. That's when Travis McMichael fired the first of three shots at Arbery.

"It's tragic that Ahmaud Arbery lost his life, but at that point, Travis McMichael is acting in self-defense," Rubin said. "He did not want to encounter Ahmaud Arbery physically. He was only trying to stop him for the police."

He asked the jury to find Travis not guilty on all charges.

Rubin claimed that on Feb. 11, 2020, 12 days before the slaying, Travis McMichael had an encounter with Arbery outside the home that was under construction in his neighborhood.

He said the younger McMichael was going to get gas when he saw a Black male dart across his path and start "lurking in the shadows" 20 to 30 feet from the street.

Rubin alleged that when Travis McMichael got out of his car and approached, the man, who turned out to be Arbery, reached for something in a waistband leading McMichael to believe he was reaching for a gun. He said the man ran into the unfinished home while Travis McMichael went home and called 911.

By the time Travis McMichael and his father went back to the construction site armed, the Black man was nowhere to be found, Rubin said.

The first defense attorney to give an opening statement was Bob Rubin for Travis McMichael.

"This is about duty and responsibility," Rubin said of the case. "It's about Travis McMichael's duty and responsibility to himself, his family and his neighborhood."

Months before the Arbery killing, the neighborhood of Satilla Shores was "on edge" due to a series of burglaries, Rubin explained.

He showed the jury a list of complaints lodged on online posts from neighbors saying, "This is ridiculous," "I'm nervous" and "lock your cars."

"People were on alert to suspicious behavior," Rubin said, describing the neighborhood of Satilla Shores as a quiet, middle-class neighborhood where parents allow their children to play outside after dark.

He said Travis McMichael was a former U.S. Coast Guard border officer working in security. He said the younger McMichael was trained and authorized to make arrests, conduct investigations and searches and "use his weapon when appropriate."

Travis McMichael was trained so well, Rubin noted, that his training became part of his muscle memory, adding, "Split seconds are often the difference between life and death."

A defense attorney for Gregory McMichael objected to a part of Dunikoski's opening statement in which the prosecutor mentioned that the investigation was "stalled" after Arbery's killing and that the defendants were "sent home."

Laura Hogue, a lawyer for Gregory McMichael, accused Dunikoski of violating a pre-trial agreement to not mention the more than two-month time lapse between the shooting and when the McMichaels and Bryan were arrested.

Hogue suggested that Dunikoski's statement could mislead the jury into believing the delay had something to do with the defendants.

Dunikoski denied that she violated the agreement and noted that she didn't mention that two district attorneys recused themselves from the case and former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson was indicted on a felony charge stemming from her handling of the case.

Johnson, the first prosecutor to get the case and who once had a working relationship with Gregory McMichael, was indicted in September on a felony count of violating her oath of office by allegedly "showing favor and affection" to Gregory McMichael and a misdemeanor count of hindering a law enforcement officer. Johnson, who lost a reelection bid in November 2020, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, said in court that Walmsley should declare a mistrial, which he refused.