New evidence presented in the case of the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery by father-son duo Gregory and Travis McMichael show that Arbery had a history of claiming to be a jogger as a cover tocommit criminal activities
On Feb. 23 last year, Arbery, 25, was shot and killed by the McMichael's while he was jogging through a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, as previously reported. The two men were sitting on their lawn when Arbery, an African-American male, passed by them and started pursuing him because they claim he looked similar to a man suspected in a series of previous break-ins in the area.
Cell-phone recorded video, which was made public in April, showed the father and son blocking Arbery in their white pick-up truck and confronting him before shooting him from close range with a shotgun, resulting in his death.
Gregory, 64, and Travis, 34, have since been charged with murder and aggravated assault and are currently jailed in coastal Glynn County, Georgia. Their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, who filmed the footage on his cellphone, was also charged with murder for trying to "confine and detain" Arbery with his vehicle in the moments leading up to his killing.
Arbery's History of Trespassing, Shoplifting, Lying about 'Jogging'
According to newly released court documents, multiple eye-witness accounts and police reports, Arbery had a history of committing criminal activities including trespassing on property, stealing from stores and then running away when being confronted.
According to excerpts from the documents, shared by Andy Ngo on Twitter, in August 2018, Arbery was allegedly caught by a woman who saw him in her backyard looking into the windows of her cars and was given a trespass warning by Burke County police officers.
"When confronted by the officers about the eye-witness reports, he lied and said he had 'gone running in the street,' and then became aggressive, confrontational, and repeatedly threatened that he would 'whip the officer's a*s' if they didn't leave him alone," the report continued.
In another alleged incident that took place in October 2018 and captured on a Burke County police officer's body cam, Arbery and two other juveniles were found in a vacant mobile home and when confronted by authorities he said he was just out jogging. He was later charged with misdemeanor obstruction for running when given lawful commands to stop, according to the report.
Arbery was Nicknamed 'The Jogger'
Other eye-witness accounts and video evidence details Arbery and his repeated behavior of pretending to be out running and then committing crimes, which apparently also earned him the nickname "The Jogger" by members of his community.
"In 2019 and 2020, local convenience store witness interviews reveal Mr. Arbery became known as 'The Jogger' for his repeated conduct and behavior of running up, stretching in front, and then entering several convenience stores where he would grab items and run out before he got caught," the excerpt read.
"In 2020, witness cell phone video reveals Mr. Arbery was confronted at a convenience store by employees about his theft conduct and behavior. Mr. Arbery, concerned about his thefts, chose to fight a man who worked on location at the adjacent truck stop who tried to confront him about it," the report stated of another eye-witness account.
