Rich McKay and Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) – The prosecution dropped its case Tuesday against Ahmaud Abery’s three white accomplices. It presented evidence that the accused wrongly believed Ahmaud was a Black person who jogged in a predominantly white neighborhood of southern Georgia.

The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office repeatedly played the cellphone video of one defendant. It shows Travis McMichael firing three shots at Arbery (25 yards away) at close range.

McMichael (35) and Gregory McMichael (65), told investigators that McMichael and McMichael grabbed their guns after Arbery ran by their driveway in the afternoon on Feb. 23, 2020. The pair believed Arbery could have been the same Black man who had been seen wandering around nearby construction sites.

Bryan, 52, drove his truck to his home after the chase went by his driveway. Investigators later learned that he had tried to block Arbery’s path in Satilla Shores (NYSE:), and then filmed Arbery’s last moments.

The defense lawyers will present their cases to the jury over the next few days. They argue that Arbery’s pursuit was permissible under Georgia’s 19th century citizen’s arrest law, which was repealed following outcry.

Arbery ran towards McMichael at the end of the chase, reaching for his gun. The defense attorneys claim McMichael fired self-defense shots.

Prosecutors tried to discredit arguments that the defendants wanted to arrest a citizen validly. The law requires that there be “reasonable” and “probable” suspicion that someone is fleeing an offense they have committed.

A variety of security-camera video footage was presented to the jury showing Arbery wandering about a partially built house located on unoccupied land near McMichaels’ home.

The McMichaels were also shown body-worn video from a police officer, which showed him telling McMichaels not only that nobody knew the identity of the young Black man seen on the property but that absolutely nothing had been taken during his time there.

They read the words of Arbery to investigators aloud.

McMichael said that McMichael threatened to kill Arbery mid-chase if Arbery did not stop.

After nearly three weeks’ of jury selection in Glynn County Superior Court on October 18, the trial ended with a jury that was almost disproportionately white.

All but one Black jury member were struck by defense attorneys. This was despite the fact that about 25% of the county’s residents are Black. The lawyers told the court that they had no race in their strikes.

The prosecution called over a dozen witnesses. Most of them were county or state detectives.

McMichael stated that Arbery was in his grasp “like a rat” to an officer from Glynn County. He wanted to run, but he knew he couldn’t escape.

The jury was also shown photographs and video of Arbery’s two shotgun injuries in the chest.