Ex-prosecutor charged in Ahmaud Arbery case booked at jail same day men were convicted of Arbery’s murder

The former prosecutor charged with misconduct for her handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case was booked at a Georgia jail on Wednesday, the same day three men were convicted of Arbery’s murder.

Former prosecutor booked

Former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson turned herself in Wednesday morning at the Glynn County jail, county Undersheriff Ron Corbett said.

Jail records show she was released on her own recognizance, meaning she did not have to pay a cash bond.

A grand jury indicted Johnson, 49, last week on a felony charge of violating her oath of office and a misdemeanor count of obstructing police.

Johnson was the area’s top prosecutor when three white men chased and fatally shot Arbery last year.

The indictment alleges she used her position to discourage police from making arrests in the 25-year-old Black man’s killing.

Ahmaud Arbery killing

Ahmuad Arbery was jogging in Satilla Shores, Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020 when he was chased down by the McMichaels in a pick up truck.

A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun. Gregory McMichael told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar and Travis McMichael shot him in self-defense.

Prosecutors have said Arbery was unarmed and was carrying no stolen items when he was slain.

The McMichaels and Bryan weren’t charged in the killing until more than two months later, after the video was leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case.

Misconduct

Associated Press reports:

Gregory McMichael worked for Johnson as an investigator in the district attorney’s office before retiring in 2019. Phone records introduced in court show he called Johnson and left her a voicemail soon after the shooting.

Johnson has previously denied any wrongdoing, saying she recused her office from the case immediately because of its relationship with Greg McMichael.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office is prosecuting Johnson. Carr sought the misconduct investigation last year, saying the first outside prosecutor he appointed to handle the case had been recommended by Johnson, who never disclosed that she had already asked that prosecutor to advise police in the immediate aftermath of Arbery’s killing.

On Wednesday (Nov 24), Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan were convicted by a jury of their peers for murdering Ahmaud Arbery.

All three men face life in prison.