About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2020)
4A Friday, November 13, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com STATE/SOUTHEAST Prosecutor reads racist messages by Arbery’s killer LEWIS LEVINE I Associated Press From left, father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, accused in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Feb., listen via closed circuit TV in the Glynn County Detention center in Brunswick, Ga., on Thursday, Nov. 12, as lawyers argue for bond to be set at the Glynn County courthouse. BY RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK - The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery had previously used racial slurs in a text message and on social media, a prosecutor said Thursday as a judge weighed whether to grant bond for the defendant and his father. Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, have been jailed since their arrests in May, more than two months after Arbery was slain. The McMichaels, who are white, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after they spotted him running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick. Questions about whether racism played a role in the killing sharp ened during a previous hearing when an investigator testified that a third defendant, who took cell phone video of the shooting, told authorities he heard Travis McMi chael, 34, utter a racial slur after he blasted Arbery three times with a shotgun. In the courtroom Thursday, Zachary Langford — a friend of Travis McMichael’s since boy hood — testified his friend was a jokester who got along with every one and had at least one Black friend. Then prosecutor Jesse Evans asked Langford about a text mes sage Travis McMichael had sent him last year that used a slur for Black people when referring to a “crackhead... with gold teeth.” Langford at first said he didn’t recall receiving the message. Then after reviewing a transcript of the exchange, he answered: “He was referring to a raccoon, I believe.” Evans also cited a photo Lang ford posted to Facebook last year to which Travis McMichael replied: “Sayonara,” along with an offensive term for Asians followed by an expletive. Langford said he didn’t recall that, either. Defense attorneys for both McMichaels have denied any rac ist motives in the shooting. Right after the Feb. 23 shooting, Gregory McMichael told police that he and his son armed themselves and got in a pickup truck to pursue Arbery because they suspected he was a burglar. “These men are proud of what they have done,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told the judge as she asked him to deny them bond. “They want to go home because they think in their self ish minds that they are the good guys.” Prosecutors say Arbery was merely jogging when the McMi chaels pursued him. Their defense attorneys insisted in court Thurs day that’s not true. “We have substantial evidence that, on the day in question, Mr. Arbery was not a jogger,” said Robert Rubin, one of Travis McMi chael’s attorneys. “He was there for nefarious purposes.” Rubin gave no evidence in court that Arbery was doing anything wrong the day he was shot. Langford’s wife, Ashley Lang ford, testified that Travis McMi chael expressed remorse about shooting Arbery. “He told me he wished it never happened like that,” she said. “He prayed for Ahmaud’s mother and his family daily.” Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley adjourned court Thurs day evening without a bond deci sion because there was still more evidence to be presented. He planned to continue the hearing Friday. The McMichaels weren’t arrested until the cellphone video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investiga tion took over the case. In June, a grand jury indicted both McMi chaels and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, on charges. Each is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggra vated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. Travis McMichael’s mother, Lee McMichael, testified that he lived with her and his father, has a 4-year-old son and doesn’t have a passport. His attorneys cited his past service as a U.S. Coast Guard mechanic as proof of his character. “In no way, shape or form is Travis hateful towards any group of people, nor does he look down on anyone based on race, religion or beliefs,” Curt Hall, a former Coast Guard roommate of Travis McMichael who described himself as “multiracial,” wrote in a letter supporting bond for his friend. Gregory McMichael, 64, is a retired investigator for the Bruns wick Judicial Circuit district attor ney’s office and a former Glynn County police officer. The McMichaels’ attorneys are also asking the judge to reject the indictment’s malice murder charge, saying it was written in a way that improperly “charges two crimes in one count.” They made a similar argument for tossing out a charge of criminal attempt to com mit false imprisonment. Bryan was previously denied bond. His attorney has argued in court motions that the entire indictment should be dismissed. Eta soaks Fla., races to Atlantic off Ga., Carolinas BY CURT ANDERSON AND FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tropical Storm Eta dumped blustery rain across north Florida after landfall Thursday morning north of the heavily populated Tampa Bay area, and then sped out into the Atlantic off of the neighboring coasts of Geor gia and the Carolinas. Some flooding was reported, but no major dam age though one death in Flor ida was linked to the storm. Some parts of the Caroli nas saw three to seven inches of rainfall by Thursday after noon due to a combination of moisture carried by the cold front that pushed Eta across Florida and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico brought in by the tropical system. That’s led to flash flooding, multiple water rescues and road closures, and at least one collapsed bridge, said Sandy LaCourte, a meteo rologist with the National Weather Service in Green ville, South Carolina. “It’s unfortunately been a tough day for the Carolinas today,” LaCourte said. Earlier, Eta slogged ashore near Cedar Key, Flor ida, before moving northeast across the state, according to the National Weather Ser vice in Miami. The storm emerged into Atlantic waters early Thursday afternoon and was forecast to pass just offshore of South Caro lina and North Carolina as it races up the Southeast seaboard through Friday morning. At 4 p.m., the storm was centered about 90 miles south-southwest of Charles ton, South Carolina. It had top sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving to the northeast at 18 mph. Although it was not the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. this year, Eta still had broad impact across the Tampa Bay region, which is home to more than 3.5 million people across five coastal counties. No man datory evacuations were ordered, but authorities opened shelters for anyone needing them. Local media reported only a handful of people showed up. In Bradenton Beach, Flor ida, Mark Mixon stepped into his flooded garage as he was laying sandbags around his home on Wednesday evening and was electrocuted, said Jacob Saur, director of public safety for Manatee County. There were appliances plugged into the garage and Mixon was killed when he stepped into the water, Saur said. Rescue crews had to wait for Florida Power and Light, which was respond ing to power outages from the storm, to shut down the electrical grid for the neigh borhood where Mixon lived before they could assist, Saur said. The storm did force clo sure of some lanes of Tampa Bay bridges because of storm surge but they were reopening Thursday. Also reopening was the Sun shine Skyway Bridge, which links Pinellas and Manatee counties. Earlier, firefighters in Tampa rescued around a dozen people who got stuck in storm surge flood ing on Bayshore Boulevard adjacent to the bay. Some vehicles remained on the roadway Thursday. Isolated neighborhoods also expe rienced enough flooding to evacuate. J.P. Brewer, owner of Salty’s Gulfport, was clean ing up after her beachside restaurant flooded Thursday morning. “It was pretty bad last night when I came in,” she said, adding that there were already 3 to 4 inches of water inside by just before high tide. “We’re in here doing our cleanup today and assessing the damage. I think we fared pretty well considering as bad as it looked last night.” Several sailboats broke free from their moorings and washed ashore in Gulf port, including the vessel where Mo Taggart has lived for two years with her dog. She thinks the boat is a total loss. “I mean, it was disaster,” Taggart said. “I mean, I came out here. My boat’s just up against the seawall, just smashing, smashing ... I need to get another boat. I want to be back on the water, (my dog) wants to be back on the water.” President Donald Trump approved a federal emer gency declaration for 13 counties along or near the Gulf coast, adding them to South Florida counties the storm struck previously. The storm had mean dered in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week after cross ing over South Florida on Sunday. Eta first hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killed at least 120 people in Central America and Mex ico, with scores more miss ing. It then moved into the Gulf of Mexico early Mon day near where the Ever glades meet the sea. Eta then crossed over the Florida Keys island chain at Lower Matecumbe Key, but the densely populated areas of Miami-Dade and Broward counties to the northeast bore the brunt with heavy rainfall and flooding. It was the 28th named storm of a busy Atlantic hur ricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. A 29th named system, Tropi cal Storm Theta, was cen tered Thursday about 455 miles south-southwest of the Azores and moving east. This extraordinarily busy season has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing wetter, stronger and more destructive storms. These healthy, hand-picked, snack size fruit are specially nurtured and treasured for their ultra-sweet flavor. 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