Ahmaud Arbery death trial live updates: 3 found guilty of murder

Defense attorney Jason Sheffield said that when Travis McMichael and his father got into their truck and chased Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020, they had probable cause that Arbery had committed a felony break-in based on the totality of evidence they had at the time.

The defense attorney cited the increase in crime in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, the confrontation Travis McMichael had with Arbery 12 days earlier at the unfinished home in which he believed Arbery was armed, that he had previously been shown security video of the young Black man in the home on several occasions and that suddenly there was a neighbor pointing in the direction the same man was running after he left the construction site.

"Travis believes he's committed the offense of burglary," Sheffield said.

Sheffield said that under the law, the McMichaels had the right to make a citizens' arrest and to be armed with firearms to make the arrests.

He said Travis McMichael was keeping an eye on Arbery to tell police the man's whereabouts when Arbery found himself between Bryan's pickup truck and the McMichaels' truck.

Sheffield said that as Arbery ran directly at Travis McMichael, he was told the stop and even turned around when Travis McMichael reached into his truck and pulled out his shotgun.

Sheffield said the second time Arbery allegedly charged at Travis McMichael, the defendant raised his weapon as a deterrent and that he was fearful Arbery had a gun and was just hoping he would keep running by.

The defense attorney then told the jury that when Arbery came around the front of Travis McMichael's truck and physically confronted the armed man and was using his fists as a weapon.

"Fists are that weapon," Sheffield said, adding that at that time, Travis McMichael fired three shots at Arbery he was afraid Arbery "would beat him with his fists," take his gun and kill him.

Playing a video Bryan took that partly showed the fatal struggle, Sheffield asked, "Is there any question that Ahmaud Arbery is assaulting Travis McMichael right before that third shot? Not one single bit of question."

"It is absolutely horrific and tragic that this has happened and this is where the law becomes intertwined with heartache and tragedy," Sheffield said. "You are allowed to defend yourself, you are allowed to use force that's likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if you believe it's necessary."

He asked the jury to acquit Travis McMichael on all charges.

Jason Sheffield, an attorney for Travis McMichael, began his closing argument with the statement, "Duty and responsibility and following law will always be intertwined with heartache and tragedy."

He added, "This case is about three things: it's about watching, it's about waiting, it's about believing."

Sheffield added that Travis McMichael spent nearly a decade in the U.S. Coast Guard "learning about duty and responsibility."

"He received extensive training on how to make decisions that would ultimately impact his beliefs as a petty officer in the Coast Guard, as a boarding officer in the Coast Guard," said Sheffield, adding that Travis McMichael trained on probable cause, use of force and using a gun to deter crime to the point it was part of his "muscle memory."

He said around the time Arbery was killed, the neighborhood of Satilla Shores was experiencing an increase in crime and suspicious people lurking in the neighborhood. He cited the testimony of several residents of the community who testified.

"They told you that this was happening in their neighborhood scared them," Sheffield said.

Sheffield directed the jury to an encounter Travis McMichael had with a man who was later identified as Arbery outside a home under construction in the neighborhood that Arbery was seen several times on security video entering.

Sheffield said the offense of burglary does not have to constitute a break-in, or a broken window or busted door.

"That's not what's required for the law. Those questions are meaningless and they are red herrings," Sheffield said. "You just have to break the plane of the structure to constitute a burglary."

The prosecutor told the panel that all three defendants are guilty of the crimes they are charged.

She said the evidence shows the McMichaels and Bryan used their pickup trucks to falsely imprison Arbery, that Bryan admitted to police that he tried to block Arbery several times and once ran him into a ditch during the five-minute chase.

She cautioned the jury that the defense attorneys will make it seem logical that it was reasonable for the three men on trial to be scared of Arbery and that he was attacking them, and that Travis McMichael "had to pull a shotgun out on him."

"They're going to make it seem so reasonable," Dunikoski said. "Put on your critical thinking caps. Use your common sense when they're up here giving their closing arguments."

Dunikoski methodically went through the evidence piece by piece Monday, telling the jury that at no time did the McMichaels and Bryan ever mentioned to police on the day of the killing that they were attempting to make a citizen's arrest or that any of them saw Arbery leaving a house under construction in their neighborhood. She noted that a requirement for making a citizen's arrest is to witness a felony take place or at least have direct knowledge of one having occurred.

"But for their actions, but for their decisions, but for their assumptions, Ahmaud Arbery would be alive," Dunikoski said.

She asked the jury to reject Travis McMichael's testimony that he, his father and Bryan chased down Arbery and shot him in self-defense, saying
you can't be the initial aggressors and then claim self-defense.

"Here's the problem, this is completely made up for trial," Dunikoski said, pointing out the differences between what Travis McMichael told police on the day of the shooting and what he said during his testimony.

"Simply put ladies and gentlemen, if you determine that this was not a citizen's arrest, this was not legitimate, he had no probable cause, you can't do this based on the law, then guess what? They're not justified in killing him, they're not justified of any of the felonies they committed against him," Dunikoski said.