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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.

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.


McMichael plans to appeal: Attorneys

Attorneys for Gregory McMichael say they will appeal, after McMichael, his son Travis, and William "Roddie" Bryan were all found guilty Wednesday of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.

Laura Hogue, one of Gregory McMichael’s lawyers, said she was “very disappointed” and attorney Frank Hogue said they will appeal, which can only begin once sentencing is done.

-ABC News' Janice McDonald

Guilty verdicts for McMichaels, Bryan

A Georgia jury has convicted three white men of murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

Travis McMichael, who shot fatally shot Arbery in February 2020, was convicted on all nine charges, including malice murder and four counts of felony murder.

Gregory McMichael, 65, was found not guilty of malice murder, but was convicted on the remaining charges, including the felony murder counts.
The McMichael's neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 53, was found guilty of three of the felony murder counts and a charge of criminal intent to commit a felony.

Here is a full breakdown of the verdicts.


Jury asks to view video of Arbery shooting

The jury was shown multiple times the now-famous video showing a struggle between Travis McMichael and Ahmaud Arbery over McMichael's shotgun that partly captured the fatal shooting.

The panel sent a note to Judge Walmsley asking to view a short version of the video and an enhanced, high-contrast video of the deadly struggle. As per their request, the jury was played the videos three times each.

It was the first request from the jury to review any evidence in the case since they began deliberating on Tuesday.

The jury also asked to hear a 911 call between Greg McMichael and a police dispatcher around the time of the shooting on Feb. 23, 2020. In the 911 call played for the jury inside the Glynn County courtroom, Greg McMichael is heard explaining his emergency was "there's a Black male running down the street." He was also overheard yelling to Arbery: "Stop. Goddammit, stop" and "Travis."



Jury resumes deliberations

The jury resumed its deliberations on Wednesday morning, after working a little over six hours on Tuesday.

The panel was called into the Glynn County courtroom around 8:30 a.m. and Judge Walmsley thanked them for their service and sent them off to continue their discussions.


Defense attorney alleges Arbery was assaulting Travis McMichael with his fists

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.