ATLANTA — Police responded to two incidents in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia just weeks before 25-year-old jogger Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down. Both involved Travis McMichael, one of the men accused of shooting Arbery dead, according to the police reports.
Video leaked online last week showed Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Gregory, 64, confront Arbery back on Feb. 23 as he jogged in the neighborhood.
Another video from that same day, appears to show Arbery walking up to a home under construction, walking around inside and then leaving, moments before he would be shot and killed.
That home in the Satilla Shores neighborhood is owned by a man named Larry English, who lives at another home 90 miles away.
A Glynn County Police Department report released to 11Alive on Wednesday details a similar trespassing incident on Feb. 11.
In the police report released Wednesday, Travis McMichael reportedly told the officer he was driving down Satilla Drive when he spotted someone run into English's home. McMichael then turned around and watched the home until police arrived, but officers didn't locate a suspect.
The officer filing the report details another conversation with English, the homeowner, who describes "an on-going issue" of an unknown black man trespassing on the property. The officer mentions in his report how videos and descriptions of the unknown man had previously been shared through neighborhood social media groups.
English's attorney, J. Elizabeth Graddy, sent 11Alive security camera video showing an unidentified person inside their home on Feb. 11. In a statement, Graddy said English received an alert on his cell phone from a motion-activated camera installed inside the home following a string of similar trespassing incidents. English's attorney states there had been four or five instances prior of a person entering the home "without authorization."
After watching the video, English called a neighbor in the Satilla Shores neighborhood he only knew as "Diego."
In the statement, the attorney said English got a text back from Diego, which read, "The police showed up and we all searched for a good while. I think he got spooked and ran after Travis confronted him. Travis says the guy ran into the house. Let me know if he shows up or if they find him."
According to the statement, English didn't connect the mentioning of Travis in the text, with Travis McMichael, because he didn't know Travis McMichael.
"Mr. English never discussed the unauthorized entries with the McMichaels prior to Mr. Arbery’s death and never shared any video with them," the statement read.
In a separate statement released on Tuesday, Graddy wrote, "Nothing was ever stolen from the English property. Even if theft or damage had occurred, however, the Englishes would never have wanted a vigilante response. The Englishes did not know the McMichaels. The Englishes never enlisted the McMichaels to do what they did and do not want to be part of any effort to justify the McMichaels' actions."
A second police report released on Wednesday from the Glynn County Police Department involves both Travis and Gregory McMichael. The report is from the morning of New Year's Day. Travis' truck was parked outside the McMichael home, a short distance down the street from English's under-construction house.
The report states Gregory moved the truck but didn't re-lock it. An hour later, Travis went to the truck, noticed his handgun was missing and he called police to report a stolen firearm.
The McMichaels have told police they followed Arbery on Feb. 23 because they suspected him of several break-ins that happened in the neighborhood and wanted to confront him about it.
However, an attorney for Arbery's family told 11Alive there is no evidence showing Arbery took anything from the home under construction or caused any damage. The attorney representing English, confirms with 11Alive nothing was stolen or damaged at the home.
The Feb. 23 video showing Arbery being shot moments after he reportedly left the home was captured on cell phone video and is key evidence according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations in the case.
Both Gregory and Travis McMichael have been charged with murder and aggravated assault in the case.