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Greg McMichael, one of three men on trial for murder in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, changed his story about why he thought Arbery was a criminal, with statements read Tuesday during the trial, the Associated Press reported.
McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan chased after the 25-year-old Black man when they saw him running in their neighborhood. Travis McMichael eventually fatally shot Arbery at close range.
Glynn County Police Officer Jeff Brandeberry told the court that Greg McMichael told him Arbery had been seen on security camera footage breaking into houses, AP reported. He read aloud transcripts of his conversations with McMichael recorded on his bodycam.
"Well, he makes frequent trips to the neighborhood and gets caught on video cameras every third or fourth night breaking into places and no one's been able to catch him," McMichael told Brandeberry.
The story changed when McMichael spoke with Glynn County Detective Parker Marcy. Marcy testified that McMichael had told him Arbery was only breaking into one house. The house was under construction and had no windows or doors.
He also told Marcy he was worried that Arbery had stolen his son's handgun from his truck a few weeks earlier, AP reported. However, he also acknowledged that he had no proof.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Prosecutors say the men had no legal reason to pursue Arbery with guns, as there's no evidence Arbery committed any crimes in the Satilla Shores subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski showed the jury security camera video from inside the house under construction recorded just before the deadly chase. Arbery can be seen wandering through the open-framed interior but doesn't seem to touch anything. He ran after a neighbor outside called police.
"Do you see him take anything or steal anything from this location?" Dunikoski asked Marcy.
The detective replied: "No ma'am."
Defense attorneys say the defendants had reason to suspect Arbery was a burglar.
Franklin Hogue, Greg McMichael's attorney, noted that in the same interview in which his client told the detective about Arbery entering the house under construction, he also said there had been "numerous entering autos and break-ins" elsewhere in the neighborhood.
"Logic tells you this guy may be the one that's doing it," Greg McMichael said, according to the transcript.
Greg McMichael said the chase began when he saw Arbery "hauling ass" past his home on a Sunday afternoon. Saying he recognized Arbery from security camera videos shown to him by a neighbor who wasn't charged in the case, he ran inside and grabbed a .357 magnum handgun. Travis McMichael armed himself with a shotgun before they went after Arbery in a pickup truck.
Bryan joined the chase in his own truck and recorded the video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range.
Defense attorneys say Travis McMichael opened fire in self-defense. Brandeberry testified that Greg McMichael told him at the scene: "He attacked my son. He came at him. He tried to get the damn shotgun away."
The detective said he asked whether the videos of Arbery inside the home under construction showed him picking up or taking anything.
"You know, not that I recall," Greg McMichael answered, according to the interview transcript that the detective read in court. "I don't think the guy has actually stolen anything out of there, or if he did it was early in the process. But he keeps going back over and over again to this damn house."
The jury Tuesday saw several photos police took after the shooting of Travis McMichael, who had Arbery's blood on his hands and arms as well as spattering his shirt, face and neck.
Brandeberry said Greg McMichael also had blood on his left hand, which he told police he had used to check Arbery for a weapon after the shooting when Arbery fell facedown in the street with one arm tucked beneath him.
Greg McMichael later told police he had shouted a warning to Arbery during the chase, when the running man ignored the demands of the men in the truck telling him to stop.
"I said, 'Stop,' you know, 'I'll blow your f---ing head off,' or something," he told Marcy. "I was trying to convey to this guy we're not playing, you know?"
