Judge tosses last charge against ex-prosecutor accused of misconduct in Ahmaud Arbery case

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A judge Wednesday ended the trial of former Georgia prosecutor accused of using her influence to protect the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery by throwing out the felony indictment used to charge her, abruptly halting the weeklong case before it went to the jury.

Former District Attorney Jackie Johnson has long denied influencing police who initially decided against making arrests when Arbery was fatally shot nearly five years ago in coastal Glynn County, where Johnson then served as the top state prosecutor. The judge’s ruling closed the book on criminal charges that hung over Johnson for more than three years.

Johnson faced charges of violating her oath of office, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of obstructing police when her trial opened last week. It ended in her favor Wednesday morning without a verdict from the jury that heard five days of testimony from witnesses, including Johnson.

Senior Judge John R. Turner dismissed the oath violation charge after Johnson’s attorneys argued the 2021 indictment was fatally flawed by technical errors and ultimately failed to accuse her of any crimes.

“Frankly, this is a decision I didn’t want to make,” Turner said in court. But he said the defense’s challenge to the indictment “needs to be granted.”

Turner on Monday ordered Johnson acquitted of the misdemeanor obstruction charge. He ruled after prosecutors rested their case, declaring they failed to show “one scintilla of evidence” that Johnson had directed police investigators not to arrest the man who shot Arbery.

Arbery’s parents said they still believe Johnson tried to protect the men who killed their son. His father, Marcus Arbery Sr., called the judge’s decision to end the trial “devastating.” His mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said she believed the jury would have convicted Johnson.

“The evidence was there,” Cooper-Jones told reporters. “We all know that Jackie Johnson played a part in the cover-up of the death of Ahmaud.”