Dec 17, 2024 Story by: Editor
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia judge on Monday rejected a legal bid by a former prosecutor to stop her upcoming trial, where she faces charges of unlawfully interfering in the investigation into the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery.
Senior Judge John R. Turner dismissed the motion from Jackie Johnson, the former District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, who had sought to disqualify the Georgia attorney general’s office from prosecuting her case.
Johnson’s legal team argued that state Attorney General Chris Carr has a conflict of interest, as members of his staff are expected to serve as key witnesses during the trial.
Jury selection for Johnson’s trial is set to begin on Jan. 21 in Brunswick, located roughly 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Savannah.
Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was fatally shot on Feb. 23, 2020, while jogging through a residential neighborhood. He was pursued by white men in pickup trucks, including Greg McMichael, a retired investigator who had worked under Johnson. The pursuit ended with McMichael’s son, Travis, shooting Arbery with a shotgun.
For more than two months after the killing, no arrests were made until a cellphone video of the shooting surfaced online, prompting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to take over from local authorities. Since then, Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan — a neighbor who joined the chase and filmed the incident — have all been convicted of murder and federal hate crimes in separate trials.
At the time of Arbery’s death, Johnson was the top prosecutor in Glynn County. She rescued her office from the case due to her prior professional relationship with Greg McMichael. However, in September 2021, Johnson was indicted on charges of violating her oath of office, a felony, and hindering a police officer, a misdemeanor. She had already been voted out of office in the 2020 elections.
The indictment alleges that Johnson used her position to favor Greg McMichael and discouraged police from arresting Travis McMichael after the shooting.
Johnson has denied any misconduct. During a recent hearing, her lead attorney, Brian Steel, stated that Johnson had been focused on seeking an appropriate prosecutor for the case and “didn’t know what was going on with Ahmaud Arbery’s case.”
Johnson’s defense also argued that the attorney general’s office, being described in the indictment as a victim, would make its staff critical witnesses in the case, creating a conflict of interest.
Judge Turner denied Johnson’s motion without providing a detailed explanation for his decision.
Prosecutor John Fowler, representing the attorney general’s office, countered that the individuals from Carr’s office who had direct interactions with Johnson regarding Arbery’s case no longer work there.
The felony charge against Johnson is linked to her 2020 recommendation that Carr appoint George Barnhill, a prosecutor from a neighboring jurisdiction, to handle the case. Carr later stated that he had appointed Barnhill without knowing that Johnson had previously consulted him about the investigation. Barnhill had advised local police that he believed Arbery was shot in self-defense and saw no grounds for arrests.
Johnson made her first court appearance as a criminal defendant last Wednesday, marking three years since her indictment.
Judge Turner noted that progress on Johnson’s case had been delayed due to Steel’s involvement in defending rapper Young Thug in a separate, high-profile racketeering and gang trial in Atlanta. Source: ABC News
