SAVANNAH, Georgia: Outrage is spreading over a shooting of a black man that led to murder charges more than two months later against a white father and son, but 鈥渁ll that matters is what the facts tell us,鈥� Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said Friday.
And once the GBI was brought into the case, 鈥渨e came up fairly quickly with the solid belief that there鈥檚 sufficient cause to charge them with felony murder and aggravated assault,鈥� Reynolds said at a news conference.
The investigation continues now that Gregory and Travis McMichael have been booked into the Glynn County Jail in the Feb. 23 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, and Reynolds said 鈥渆very stone will be uncovered.鈥�
But in response to a question about racial intent in the shooting, Reynolds said 鈥渢here is no hate crime in Georgia. There isn鈥檛. It is one of four or five states that doesn鈥檛 have one.鈥�
The McMichaels told police they pursued Arbery, with another person recording them on video, after spotting him running in their neighborhood. The father and son said they thought he matched the appearance of a burglary suspect recorded on a surveillance camera.
Arbery鈥檚 mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her son, a former football player, was just jogging in the Satilla Shores neighborhood before he was killed on a Sunday afternoon.
National outrage over the case swelled this week after the cellphone video was leaked and shared on social media.
Those close to Arbery celebrated the news but also expressed frustration at the long wait.
鈥淭his should have occurred the day it happened,鈥� said Akeem Baker, one of Arbery鈥檚 close friends in Brunswick. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way without the video this would have occurred. I鈥檓 just glad the light鈥檚 shining very bright on this situation.鈥�
Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the slain man鈥檚 father, Marcus Arbery, said it鈥檚 outrageous that arrests took so long.
鈥淭his is the first step to justice,鈥� Crump said in a statement. 鈥淭his murderous father and son duo took the law into their own hands. It鈥檚 a travesty of justice that they enjoyed their freedom for 74 days after taking the life of a young black man who was simply jogging.鈥�
The GBI announced the arrests the day after it began its own investigation at the request of an outside prosecutor. The felony murder charges against Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, mean that a victim was killed during the commission of an underlying felony, in this case aggravated assault. The charge doesn鈥檛 require intent to kill.
A GBI news release said the McMichaels 鈥渃onfronted Arbery with two firearms. During the encounter, Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery.鈥�
Reynolds and the outside prosecutor now handling the case, Tom Durden, said in response to reporters鈥� questions that they weren鈥檛 aware of any arraignment or bond hearings scheduled for the defendants. Reynolds also said he didn鈥檛 know whether the McMichaels had an attorney who could comment.
Gregory McMichael retired last year as an investigator for Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson; the connection caused Johnson to recuse herself. Waycross D.A. George E. Barnhill then got the case before recusing himself under pressure from Arbery鈥檚 family because his son works in Johnson鈥檚 office.
Durden had said he wanted a grand jury to decide whether charges are warranted, but Georgia courts are still largely closed because of the coronavirus. Durden said Friday that he won鈥檛 bow to public pressure from one side or another.
Brunswick defense attorney Alan Tucker identified himself Thursday as the person who shared the video with the radio station. He did not say how he obtained it. In a statement, Tucker said he wasn鈥檛 representing anyone involved. He said he shared the video 鈥渂ecause my community was being ripped apart by erroneous accusations and assumptions.鈥�
The video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. The truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one of the white men standing in the pickup鈥檚 bed and the other beside the open driver鈥檚 side door.
The runner attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving just beyond the truck, briefly outside the camera鈥檚 view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the runner grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the runner can be seen punching the man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The runner staggers a few feet and falls face down.
The outcry over the killing reached the White House, where President Donald Trump offered condolences to Arbery鈥檚 family.
鈥淚 saw the tape and it鈥檚 very, very disturbing,鈥� Trump said Friday on Fox News Channel.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a heartbreak. ... very rough, rough stuff,鈥� Trump added. 鈥淛ustice getting done is what solves that problem. It鈥檚 in the hands of the governor and I鈥檓 sure he鈥檒l do the right thing.鈥�
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called Arbery鈥檚 death a 鈥渕urder.鈥� During an online roundtable Thursday, Biden said the video shows Arbery 鈥渓ynched before our very eyes.鈥�
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters before the charges were announced that he鈥檚 confident state investigators will 鈥渇ind the truth.鈥�
鈥淓arlier this week, I watched the video depicting Mr. Arbery鈥檚 last moments alive,鈥� Kemp said. 鈥淚 can tell you it鈥檚 absolutely horrific, and Georgians deserve answers.鈥�