District attorney who first investigated Ahmaud Arbery case loses bid for re-election

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Controversial Brunswick Judicial Circuit D.A and Republican Jackie Johnson lost her bid for re-election to a former senior prosecutor in her office, Independent candidate Keith Higgins.

Johnson had held the post since 2010. Higgins nearly doubled Johnson’s vote total, winning 66% to 34%.

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Johnson and her office were initially charged to investigate the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery’s family said he was shot and killed while jogging through a Brunswick neighborhood in late February.

Two months after the incident and after a video of the shooting was made pubic, Greg McMichael, a former investigator for Johnson’s office and his son Travis were charged in Arbery’s death.

A third person, William “Roddie” Bryan, who shot video of the confrontation, was charged a short time later.

Johnson would eventually recuse herself from the case and handed it off to another prosecutor from the Wayrcoss Judicial District who also declined to press charges. George Barnhill admitted not realizing his son had worked with Greg McMichael as a part of Johnson’s office.

Barnhill would eventually recuse himself before State Attorney General Chris Carr assigned the case to Cobb County D.A. Joyette Holmes.

In May, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Nicole Carr took a deep dive into Johnson’s history in the office. A previous Channel 2 investigation found Johnson had protected Glynn County police officers in a shooting that happened five years earlier when two officers shot through the windshield of an unarmed woman, killing her.

Higgins, at that time expressed concern over the handling of that investigation.

“It has affected me very deeply in that regard, in that someone was very brutally killed, unnecessarily, and nothing has been done about it,” Higgins said.

In 2018, one of the officers involved in the 2010 incident who was exonerated, Corey Sasser killed his estranged wife and her boyfriend. At the time, Sasser was wanted on domestic violence probation violation charges and a standoff with police. He would end up killing himself after committing the murders.

After the incident, Johnson asked the GBI to investigate whether Sasser had gotten help from law enforcement to track down his victims. The GBI found he did.

Prosecutors ask judge to allow ‘racist’ social media posts to present to jury in Ahmaud Arbery case For months prosecutors in the case have said they believe race played a role in the jogger’s death earlier this year outside of Brunswick, Georgia.