Judge orders acquittal of ex-prosecutor on 1 of 2 counts in misconduct trial over Ahmaud Arbery case

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A judge Monday ordered the acquittal of a former Georgia prosecutor on one of the two misconduct charges against her, ruling that prosecutors at her trial failed to present any evidence that she obstructed police investigating the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

The trial of former District Attorney Jackie Johnson was to continue Tuesday. She still faces a felony charge of violating her oath of office.

Soon after prosecutors rested their case Monday, the judge took the rare step of granting a directed verdict on the misdemeanor obstruction charge against Johnson. The ruling means the judge found the case against Johnson on that single charge was too weak for any reasonable jury to convict her.

“There is not one scintilla of evidence that I’ve heard that would authorize a verdict on that count,” Senior Judge John R. Turner said from the bench.

Three white men chased and fatally shot Arbery after spotting the 25-year-old Black man running in their Georgia neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. They told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar and argued that he was shot in self defense.

Two months passed after the killing before any arrests were made. Eventually, all three men were convicted of murder and federal hate crimes.

Since the trial opened a week ago, prosecutors have tried to build a case that Johnson worked behind the scenes to protect Arbery’s assailants, who included a retired investigator from her office, from being charged in his killing.