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

Arbery was fatally shot on Feb. 23, 2020, in Satilla Shores, Georgia.

Last Updated: November 23, 2021, 8:30 AM EST

A Georgia jury resumed deliberating on Wednesday the fates of three white men charged with trapping Ahmaud Arbery with their pickup trucks and fatally shooting him.

"Your oath requires that you will decide this case based on the evidence," Judge Timothy Walmsley told the jury before sending the panel off to begin their deliberations on Tuesday.

The jury got the case after Linda Dunikoski, the Cobb County, Georgia, assistant district attorney appointed as a special prosecutor in the Glynn County case, took two hours to rebut the closing arguments made on Monday by attorneys for the three defendants.

The jury, comprised of 11 white people and one Black person, heard wildly different summations on Monday of the same evidence in the racially-charged case. Dunikoski alleged the defendants pursued and murdered Arbery because of wrong assumptions they made that the Black man running through their neighborhood had committed a burglary, while defense attorneys countered that Arbery was shot in self-defense when he resisted a citizen's arrest.

Travis McMichael, the 35-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, a retired Glynn County police officer, and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 53, each face maximum sentences of life in prison if convicted on all the charges.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to a nine-count state indictment that includes malice murder, multiple charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a 12-gauge shotgun and aggravated assault with their pickup trucks.

The McMichaels and Bryan were also indicted on federal hate crime charges in April and have all pleaded not guilty.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 23, 2021, 8:30 AM EST

Jury sent home for the night

After Kevin Gough, the attorney for William "Roddie" Bryan, wrapped up his closing argument, Dunikoski informed the judge that she'd need another two hours to present her rebuttal argument.

Judge Walmsley polled the jury and they said they didn't want to stay longer.

Dunikoski will present her rebuttal argument on Tuesday morning before the jury is given final instructions on the law and sent to begin deliberations.

Court will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, about a half-hour earlier than usual.

Nov 22, 2021, 4:30 PM EST

Bryan was led by 'divine providence' to record shooting, attorney says

Gough took the jury almost frame-by-frame through Bryan's cellphone video of the shooting. Stopping and starting the footage, he pointed out that Bryan at one point was only driving 2 mph during the chase of Arbery, that his leg was shaking and his breathing was labored due to fear.

He said at another point in the video that Bryan is heard saying "I'm gonna keep going." Gough suggested that Bryan was giving up the pursuit and heading home after Arbery had run past his truck followed by the McMichaels.

Gough showed the jury a part of the video in which Bryan appears to be driving in the opposite direction of Arbery before turning around and taking a shorter route toward his home only to find himself in a position to document the shooting.

"I'm going to suggest to you that perhaps, and I know I'll get grief for this, I would say to you that you can call it karma, you can call it fate, I would call it divine providence, somebody is guiding Mr. Bryan," Gough said. "Whether it's a conscious thought process or not, something is guiding Mr. Bryan down this street to document what's going on."

Nov 23, 2021, 8:31 AM EST

'Without Roddie Bryan, there is no case,' attorney says

William "Roddie" Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, began his summation by telling the jury that his client never knew the McMichaels brought guns to chase Arbery or that he was aware that Travis McMichaels was going to shoot Arbery.

"The inconvenient truth is that Roddie Bryan did not know and could not know that these men were armed until moments before Mr. Arbery's tragic death," Gough said. "He did not know that Arbery would be shot and by that time, sadly, there was nothing Roddie Bryan could do to prevent this tragedy."

Gough said that from the get-go, Bryan cooperated with the police, providing several statements, his home security video and the now-famous cellphone video he took that captured part of the fatal shooting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, without Roddie Bryan, there is no case," Gough said.

Gough said Bryan had no lawyer present when police first interviewed him.

"These actions, ladies and gentlemen, only demonstrate good faith, his conduct (is) negative of any inference of criminal intent."

Nov 22, 2021, 3:15 PM EST

Bryan's attorney raises concerns over 'Black Panthers' outside courthouse

Before giving his closing argument, William "Roddie" Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, made a motion for a mistrial based on activities he said were happening outside the courtroom.

"Protesters, whether they were the Black Panthers group or some other group were behind the barriers in front of the courthouse ... there was a truck carrying a coffin with the names of the defendants on it," Gough told Judge Timothy Walmsley.

PHOTO: Dozens of Black Lives Matter and Black Panther protesters gather outside the Glynn County Courthouse where the trial of Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan is held, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga.
Dozens of Black Lives Matter and Black Panther protesters gather outside the Glynn County Courthouse where the trial of Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan is held, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. The three men charged with the February 2020 slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton

Gough alleged the Black Panthers have specifically said "their specific objective was to influence the proceedings in this case."

He said "large weapons, apparently automatic weapons" were also seen outside the courthouse.

"I don't know whether they intended to scare the defendants but I have co-counsel with a small child who is scared to death," Gough said.

Walmsley denied the motion saying he's been given no indication that things were getting out-of-hand outside the courtroom and that there was no evidence the jurors were exposed to anything intimidating.

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