'I'll just call it rude' judge reprimands attorney during murder trial
The judge in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial reprimanded the defense attorney for disrespecting the court.
USA TODAY, Associated Press
BRUNSWICK, Ga. A man who called police to report Ahmaud Arberyinsidea house under construction testified Wednesday, giving jurors a newperspective of what happened moments before Arbery was chased down by three other men and fatally shot.
Matthew Albenze, who has lived in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick for more than 30 years, said that minutes after he called the police nonemergency number, he heard shots and came across a "shocking scene," where Arbery's body was splayed on the road.
Albenze is the first witness who is not a police officer to testify in the murder trial of three white men accused of killing Arbery, who was Black. After father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael spotted Arbery in their neighborhood, William "Roddie" Bryanjoined in and they "cornered" Arberyhe was fatally shotby Travis.
Albenzesaid he wassplitting wood in his front yard early last year when he saw a stranger standingin front of a neighbor's house under construction. Albenze said the neighbor had once showed him a video of someone walking around the open construction site, and Albenze believed it to be the same man.
"He was just standing there looking around," Albenze said.
Ahmaud Arbery: Greg McMichael didn't know ifArbery had a gun, but 'I don't take any chances,' he told police
Albenze said he went into hishouse, grabbed his phone and a pistol, and came back outside. That's when he saw theman inside the construction site andcalled the police nonemergency number.He testified he didn'tcall 911 because he"did not see an emergency."
Prosecutors played a recording of Albenze's phone call in court on Wednesday.An operator can be heard asking Albenze ifthe man was breaking into the house:
"No, its all open,"Albenze said.
The operator asks:"OK, what ishe doing?"
"Hes running down the street," Albenze says.
Albenze said he did not know why Arbery started running. He also said he did not call the McMichaels or communicate with them in any way.Meanwhile, the McMichaels got in a truck and pursued Arbery.
"In a few minutes, I heard gunshots," said Albenze, who reported hearing three gunshots.
Defense attorneys have said the McMichaels and Bryan were legally justified in chasing and trying to detain Arbery because they believed he was a burglar, and that Travis fired his gun in self-defense. The prosecution has argued Arbery committed no crimes.
After hearing the gunshots, Albenze told the court he rode his bicycle downthe street to see what happened and came upon Arbery's body, a police carand Travis and Gregory McMichael.
"I stopped and went home. It was kind of a shocking scene," Albenze said.
On cross-examination, defense attorneys questioned Albenze on why he felt compelled to call police in the first place. Albenze said he was part of a neighborhood Facebook group where residents were posting about property crimes in the area.
Asked if he was concerned about property thefts in Satilla Shores, Albenze said, "Of course. ... Its our home." Albenze said he was also aware ofcar break-ins in the neighborhood.
Stephan Lowrey, a former Glynn County police officer who led the investigation, spent much of the afternoon testifying about his interview with Bryan.
Bryan told the officerhe angled his truck at Arbery multiple times and tried to steer him off the road.Prosecutors had the officerread aloud from a transcript of his interview with Bryan.
According to the transcript, Bryan said he believed Arbery was trying to get into his truck at one point during the chase, and the officerlater found fingerprints and white fibers on the drivers side door of the vehicle.
"But I didn't hit him,"Bryan told the officer. "I wish I would have, might have took him out and not got him shot."
When asked during a lengthy cross-examination if the shooting had anything to do with Arbery being Black, the officersaid no.
Lowrey also agreed with a defense attorneythat if he believed Bryan deliberately attacked Arbery or committed a felony like aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, he would have read him his Miranda rights during theinterview.
"That wasnt the way I interpreted it at the time, though," the officersaid.
Earlier Wednesday, Investigator Roderic Nohilly with the Glynn County Police Department told prosecutors he spoke briefly to Gregory McMichael after the shooting, with McMichael describingArbery as being "trapped like a rat."
"His (Arbery's) intention was to grab that shotgun and probably shoot Travis," McMichael told Nohilly, who said he has known McMichael professionally for at least 16 years.
Witness Kellie Parr, who grew up in a house near where Arbery was shot, testified she had been visiting her parentsin late December or early January when she drove by a house under construction andsaw a tall Black man standing in the doorframe.
Parr said she wondered what the man was doing there but thought to herself, "No Kellie, dont be racist." She said she kept driving.
Cara Richardson, the director of the local 911 call center, was the day's final witness. Prosecutors played a series of 911 calls made by Greg and Travis McMichael, including the call made the day of the shooting, while she was on the stand. During cross-examination, Richardson told the defense she was not aware of any calls made to the personal numbers of police officers.
The trial has drawn scrutiny over the nearly all-white juryconsidering charges against the three white men accused of killing Ahmaud, who was Black.Several public figures have called Arbery's killing a "lynching," and JudgeTimothy Walmsleyhas acknowledged the "racial overtones" of the case.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, whorepresents Arbery's father, werein the courtroom Wednesday.As Nohilly testified,Crump spoke outside the courthouse, calling it "concerning" that the jury doesnt reflect the diversity of the county.
In Brunswick, more than 55% of residents are Black, and more than 26% of residents in Glynn County are Black, according the U.S. Census Bureau. One Black man is serving on the jury.
Who's on the jury?Here's what we know about them
While jurors are told to follow evidence and the law as instructed by the court,Crump saidthey are told they can use their life experiences and perspectives.
"When they do that, do they understand the life experiences of Ahmaud? His background? His culture?" Crump asked. "Or will they be more akin to the perspective and background of the killers of AhmaudArbery?It is concerning and we have to call out thisintellectualjustification of discrimination of our entire legal system."
Sharpton, who said he was invited to Brunswick by Arbery's mother and father, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, led Arberys family and supporters in a prayer vigil.
"I didnt want to just pray with the family in Savannah or put them on TV, I wanted to sit with them today with the trial," said Sharpton, who called Arberys killing "a lynching in the 21st century."
Sharpton also raised concerns about the jury failing to reflect Glynn Countys population, but said he is encouraged by knowing that some white people in Brunswick have spoken out against the defendants' actions.
"This is not limited to race. There are white people who see this as disgraceful and dont want their town known for this," he said.
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Ahmaud Arbery trial: Witness tells jury about moments ...