ST A
TE
OF
GEORGIA,
IN
THE
SUPERIOR
COURT
OF
GLYNN
COUNTY
STATE
OF
GEORGIA
)
)
FILED - EH
GLYNN CO. CLERK'S OFFICE
Fil
ed
7/16/2020 1 :
02
PM
Accept
ed
7/16/2020 1 :48 PM
CASE # C -2000433
. .
fr1
~n.~
...
,..,..
CLERK SUPERIOR COURT
V.
)
CRIMINAL
ACTION
NO: 20-CR-00433
WILLIAM
RODERICK
BRYAN
,
Defendant.
)
)
)
AMENDED WITNESS LIST, STATEMENTS AND EXHIBIT LIST
IN
SUPPORT OF
RODDIE BRYAN'S MOTION FOR BAIL
COMES
NOW
Defendant William Roderick "Roddie" Bryan,
by
and through undersigned
counsel, and files this his "Witness List, Statements and Exhibit List
In
Support
of
Roddie Bryan
's
Motion for Bail.
The
following are Defendant
's
witnesses, statements and exhibit list.
Witnesses for Friday's hearings, with attached statements as applicable, are as follows: ( 1)
Amy
Elrod; (2) Preston Bryan; (3) Peyton
Ann
Thompson; (4) Joselynn Spencer (with attached
exhibits); (5) Elizabeth Thompson; (6) Darlene Bennett; (7) Maria Thomas and (8) Chelsea Howell;
(9) District Attorney
Tom
Durden; (10) District Attorney Joyette Holmes (subject to State motion);
(11) Attorney General Designee (in place
of
Chris Carr by agreement); and (12)
S.
Lee Merritt, Esq.
Exhibits shall be numbered as follows: (1) Bond hearing/character witness statements
( composite exhibit attached to original filing); (2) Transcript
of
Preliminary Hearing; (3A) video
taken outside residence
of
Larry English in Satilla Shores
on
February 23, 2020, currently in the
possession
of
the State
of
Georgia
or
Glynn County Police Department showing Ahmaud Arbery
walking up to a private residence, entering the residence without authority, remaining in said
residence for approximately four minutes - without any apparent lawful
purpose-
and then running
out
of
said residence after observing surveillance camera(s); (3B) video taken inside residence
of
Larry English in Satilla Shores on February 23, 2020, currently in the possession
of
the State
of
Georgia
or
Glynn County Police Department showing Ahmaud Arbery loitering in said residence
for approximately four minutes; ( 4) incident report
of
Glynn County Police Department for February
23, 2020; (4) videotaped statement(s) Greg McMichael (composite exhibit); (5) videotaped
statements
of
Travis McMichael including statements referencing a previous encounter outside the
same Satilla Shores residence during which Ahmaud Arbery reached into his pants (suggesting that
he was armed with a deadly weapon) (composite exhibit); (6) videotaped statements
of
Roddie
Bryan
to
GCPD and GBI ( composite exhibit); (7) "re-enactment" or "path
of
travel" videotape made
by GBI
in May, 2020; (8) Letter sent
to
attorney S. Lee Merritt; (10) recordings
of
911
calls from
Satilla Shores on February 23, 2020; (11) GCPD bodycam video
of
Armaud Arbery acting
aggressively towards Glynn County Police Department officers on a previous occasion; (12)
911
call from mother
of
Ahmaud Arbery reflecting fear
of
son and fear that mentally ill son might act
aggressively towards responding law enforcement officers; (13) conviction
of
Ahmaud Arbery for
obstruction
of
a law enforcement officer and other offenses arising out
of
bringing a firearm
to
a
school event and related police reports; ( 14) conviction
of
Ahmaud Arbery for theft by shoplifting;
(15) probation records for Ahmaud Arbery reflecting mental illness and character trait for and
habitually aggressive words and behavior; and (16) excerpts from self-proclaimed
"n
ational civil
rights attorney'' S. Lee Merritt facebook and twitter pages ( composite exhibit). Defendant reserves
the right to utilize any exhibit and witness on the State's witness and exhibit lists and
to
further
supplement the above after as discovery and other matters develop.
Submitted, this
16
th
day
of
July, 2020.
Kevin Gough Firm, LLC
501
Gloucester Street, Suite
121
Po
st Office Box 898
Sea Island, GA 31521
(912) 242-5114
kevingough.firm@gmail.com
Isl Kevin Gough
Kevin Gough
ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT
Georgia Bar No. 303210
-2-
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
COMES
NOW
Kevin Gough, attorney for the defendant, and hereby certifies that a copy
of
the foregoing document(s) have been served upon the District Attorney
by
email delivery this date.
This 16th day
of
July, 2020.
Isl Kevin Gough
-3-
KEVIN GOUGH FIRM,
LLC
EMAIL
S. Lee Merritt, Esq.
McEldrew Young Purtell
1
23
S.
Broad
St.
,
Ste
. 2250
Philadelphia, PA 19109
A
TIORNEY
AT
LAW
501
GLO
UC
ES
TER STREET, SUITE 121
BRU
NS
WICK,
GEORGIA
J
1520
Please direct all co,,onunicatiom·
to
:
PO
ST
OFFICE
Box
898
BR
UNS
WICK, GEORGIA 31521
E~tAIL
: k
evi
ngough
.finn@
gma
i
l.com
TE
LEPHONE:
(912)
242-5114
F
ACS
IMILE
: (912) 480-9280
May
31
, 2020
R
e:
Defamation
Per
Se
of
Roddie Bryan - Request to Cease and Desist - Retraction Demand
Dear Sir:
I represent William Roderick "Roddie" Bryan, the witness
to
the tragic shooting death of
Ahmaud Arbery in Satilla Shores on February 23, 2020. Please be advised that your actions and
statements about Mr. Bryan amount to libel and slander within the meaning
of
Georgia law. See
O.C.G.A.
§ Sl-5-1
et.
seq. You have published faise and malicious statements about William
Roderick "Roddie" Bryan. It would appear that you have done so, moreover, with the apparent
authority
of
the law firm with which you are associated.
On May 3, 2020, a facebook page attributed
to
you states that Arbery was murdered by three
white men - that
he
was "stalked" and "lynched." You are referencing Roddie Bryan
as
the third.
On May
6,
2020, a twitter page attributed to S. Lee Merritt, Esq., states: "Gregory
McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and a third suspect hunted and killed #Ahmaud Arbery
because they are racist. They should be in jail facing
lif
e without the possibility
of
parole." The
embedded video clarifies that the this third individual was Roddie Bryan. A facebook post attributed
to
you the same day repeats the same statements, adds that Mr. Arbery was hunted and killed and
the three men responsible are a danger
to
the community and a danger to peace.
Another post, on May 7, 2020: states: "A lot
of
people have asked why I keep saying THREE
suspects. Here
is
the third. Thanks @shaunki
ng!
Arrest a
ll
three
of
these men who conspired and
murdered #AhmaudArbery."
On May 8, 2020, in a video embedded on what appears to be your facebook page, you state
that Arbery was
"ambushed"
and that there was a another [third] person behind him with a gun. You
state that he can be heard cocking a gun in the video
of
the incident.
On
May
I 0, 2020, in a facebook
post
attributed to you, you state that I am "defending a
murderer."
These are but a few
of
the many statements attributed to you in various mediums that
essentially state that William Roderick
"Roddie"
Bryan committed the criminal offense
of
murder
(aiding and abetting as party to the crime) and/or conspiracy
to
commit
murder, and is criminally
liable as
an
accomplice to the murder
of
Ahmaud
Arbery and liable for "aiding and abetting" the
murder
of
Ahmaud Arbery. These statements constitute malice
per
se
under Georgia law.
After I begged you to cease and desist from your malicious statements that placed the lives
of
Roddie Bryan and his family in danger, you ridiculed
Mr
. Bryan - vowing
"We
will stop when
he's in jail."
In
another May 19, 2020 tweet you responded that Roddie Bryan "participated in an
ambush"
of
Mr
. Arbery.
In
a subsequent May 20, 2020 tweet with accompanying video, you
mock
Roddie Bryan over
his fear for his life
and
the lives
of
his family members resulting from your actions and statements.
You tweeted: "Arbery
is
dead in large part due to his actions." In the embedded video you
go
even
further and state: "
Ahmaud
Arbery is actually dead because
of
his actions."
On
May 21, 2020, you re-tweeted this statement: "Psychos favor a particular haircut, along
with the name and photograph
of
William· Bryan."
The
same
day, you also tweeted an image
of
the
fictional "three stooges" in prison garb and referenced Rodd[y] Bryan as one
of"the
Three Stooges
2020." And there is statement referencing
Mr
. Bryan as a "devil." There are also false statements
attributed to you, still under investigation, including those to the effect that Mr. Bryan was armed,
and that
"if
Ahmaud turned around
he
would be shot
by
Roddie."
Your
statements, made with evident actual malice, have needlessly placed the lives
of
Mr.
Bryan, his family, friends and neighbors in jeopardy, and effectively destroyed his life. Roddie and
his family have received threats. Roddie has lost his
job
, and
is
now unemployed. Mr. Bryan, his
fiancee, his children, his siblings and other family members, friends and neighbors now live in fear.
We
are exploring whether your statements have actually reduced property values in Satilla Shores
to
the poi
nt
where people like Roddie Bryan cannot even sell or re-finance their homes. You have
caused harm to the trade, office and profession
of
Mr. Bryan as well as his good reputation.
Notice is further given that under Georgia law, O.C.G.
A.
§ 51-5-11 , you are required to issue
a retraction
if
you wish to limit the kinds
of
damages to which
Mr
. Bryan
is
entitled.
We
are
demanding that you retract all
of
the above-referenced statements in the manner set forth under
Georgia law. You may wish to confer promptly with competent legal counsel as to your rights and
responsibilities and those
of
your firm
in
this matter. The time frame within
which
to issue the
retraction may be as little as three days from the receipt
of
this letter, depending on the manner
of
publication, which would establish a deadline
just
prior to the preliminary hearing presently
scheduled in this matter for June 4, 2020.
Issuan
ce
of
the
retraction m
ay
limit
the
ki
nd
s
of
damages that may
be
recovered
by
Mr.
Bryan
bu
t
the
retraction w
ill
nor
lessen
yo
ur
li
ability
to
him.
Nothing ser forth herein should
be
construed
as
a waiver
of
any
cl
aim
thar
Mr.
81yan has
aga
in
st
you
.
Krg/krg
