GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia judge denied bond Friday for the father and son accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery as he was jogging in a south Georgia neighborhood in February, according to WSB-TV and WJAX-TV.
Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan pleaded not guilty to several charges, including malice and felony murder, earlier this year. The McMichaels appeared in court Thursday and Friday for a bond hearing.
BREAKING: Bond denied for father & son accused in murder of #AhmaudArbery. Arbery was shot & killed while running in a Brunswick, GA neighborhood in February. Suspects were charged in May after video of the shooting surfaced. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews @DavidBegnaud @CBSNews https://t.co/LHd7tnWeST
— Tenikka Smith Hughes (@TenikkaANjax) November 13, 2020
A judge previously denied bond for Bryan, though WSB-TV reported that he planned to ask for bond again.
The McMichaels have been jailed since they were arrested in May to face charges in Arbery’s death. Authorities said the McMichaels armed themselves on Feb. 23 and pursued Arbery, 25, as he was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick.
Attorneys for the McMichaels argued in court that they are good people who don’t pose a flight risk. Several witnesses close to the pair took the stand in their defense, WJAX-TV reported.
The McMichaels have said they wanted to question Arbery about recent thefts in the neighborhood and have denied that racism played a role in the shooting, according to WSB-TV.
Prosecutors pointed to social media posts to argue that the McMichaels are racists who pose a threat, WSB-TV reported. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told WJAX-TV that if the McMichaels were granted bond, it would lessen her faith in the justice system.
“My son was not committing a crime. He was just running. His life shouldn’t have ended the way it ended,” she said, according to WSB-TV. “Ahmaud wasn’t allowed to go home, so them going home would be totally unfair.”
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