The man who recorded the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery which led to the arrest of a former cop and his son on murder charges was arrested himself on murder charges Thursday.
William “Roddie” Bryan, 50, was the man driving in the car behind Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, when the son stepped out of the truck he was driving and confronted Arbery as he was jogging through the neighborhood.
After a short struggle, Travis McMichael fired his shotgun three times and Arbury fell on the street dead.
The incident took place on February 23 but the father and son were not arrested until May 7 and only because the video recorded by Bryan was leaked to a local radio station where it was then picked up by the news media. The video was leaked by a defense attorney named Alan Tucker who thought he was doing the McMichaels a favor.
“The video speaks for itself,” Tucker told Inside Edition. “What happened, happened. I don’t have an excuse for it. I can’t explain. Other than, we always say, ‘What if he had just froze and hadn’t done anything, he wouldn’t have gotten shot.'”
Making the arrest was the Georgia Bureau of Investigations which issued the following statement in a press release.
MAY 21, 2020
Ahmaud Arbery Murder Investigation
May 21st Update:
On May 21, 2020, the GBI arrested William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., age 50, on charges of Felony Murder & Criminal Attempt to Commit False Imprisonment. These charges stem from the February 23, 2020 incident that resulted in the death of Ahmaud Arbery. He will be booked into the Glynn County Jail.
This case is being investigated in partnership with District Attorney Joyette Holmes of the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
May 20th Update:
On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at approximately 6:39 PM, GBI agents executed a search warrant at the home of Gregory & Travis McMichael. This investigative act is part of the Ahmaud Arbery murder investigation. No further details are being released at this time due to the active and ongoing case.
Attorneys for the family of Arbury say they have video footage that shows the men chased Arbury for four minutes before he was killed.
According to the Daily Mail:
Bryan’s attorney Kevin Gough has previously denied claims his client was armed at the time of the killing and insisted he is ‘not a vigilante’.
Bryan claimed there had been a ‘number of crimes in the neighborhood in recent weeks – despite cops saying there were no burglaries reported in the two months leading up to the young man’s death.
Gough also said the shooting simply ‘start[ed] happening in front of him’ and Bryan had handed over the footage to police ‘immediately’ after the incident.
He told Weekend TODAY Bryan had arrived at the scene after he saw Arbery running through the neighborhood and being pursued by the McMichaels in their truck.
‘He was in his yard and this just starts happening in front of him,’ said Gough. ‘He gets in his car and is trying to document that.’
Watch the video below.
