BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Jury deliberations are underway in the trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.
The judge charged the jury late Tuesday morning following the end of closing arguments in the case.
Channel 2′s Tony Thomas is in Brunswick, covering the trial from the beginning.
The Glynn County Sheriff’s Office told Thomas that the jury got right down to business Tuesday, deliberating over what would have been their lunch break.
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So far there have been no questions and no word at all from jurors.
Thomas spoke with defense attorney Kevin Gough as he and his client Roddie Bryan wait for a verdict.
“I never predict what a jury is going to do,” Gough told Thomas.
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Despite not wanting to predict how long the jury might be out, Gough was quick to answer what he thinks the verdict might be when asked about potential appeals.
“Appeal? We are going to win. I don’t know what you all are talking about. Roddie is walking out of that courthouse,” Gough said.
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Thomas saw Bryan walk into the courthouse early Tuesday morning, along with his co-defendants Travis and Greg McMichael. The jury is deciding whether they should spend the rest of their lives in prison for this videotaped chase and shooting of Arbery last year.
In her closing argument, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said the killing was racially motivated.
“This isn’t about whether these three men are good people or bad people, it’s about responsibility. It’s about holding people responsible for their actions,” Dunikoski said.
But Travis McMichael, the only one of the three to testify during the trial, claims self-defense.
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“I shot him. He had my gun. It was obvious he was attacking,” McMichael said on the stand earlier in the trial.
The McMichaels say they were trying to stop and hold Arbery for police under Georgia’s now-repealed citizen’s arrest law.
Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones has been in court every day of the trial and walked out of the courthouse Tuesday confident of guilty verdicts.
“God has brought us this far, and he’s not going to fail us now. We will get justice for Ahmaud,” Cooper-Jones said.
“I feel for the Arbery family. This has been an ordeal for them,” Gough said.
The sheriff said if need be and if the jury wants to, the group can deliberate Friday and Saturday through the holiday weekend.
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