Suspect in Wendy's arson may have had personal relationship with Rayshard Brooks
Bryan Llenas reports from Atlanta, Georgia.
Natalie White, the woman accused of setting fire to a Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta after the police-involved shooting death of Rayshard Brooks, was freed Wednesday on a $10,000 bond following her Tuesday arrest, according to a report.
White’s attorney, Drew Findling, confirmed that White is the woman Brooks was talking about in his conversation with police officers that preceded his June 12 death near the restaurant, FOX 5 of Atlanta reported.
ATLANTA WENDY'S ARSON SUSPECT, ID'D AS RAYSHARD BROOKS' GIRLFRIEND, ARRESTED
Findling, a prominent Atlanta attorney, told the station he has known White, 29, since she was 8 years old and insisted that she was innocent of the arson charge.
“Natalie did not set that Wendy’s on fire, I want to make that point clear,” he told the station.
Natalie White is suspected of burning down a Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta following the police-involved death of Rayshard Brooks. (Atlanta Police Department)
The attorney confirmed, however, that White is the woman seen in FOX 5 footage appearing to ignite an aerosol can shortly before the restaurant went up in flames. The video also showed others in the area, some of whom were smashing windows.
Magistrate Judge Todd Ashley granted White her release pending further legal action. The University of Georgia graduate was also ordered to stay off social media while her case is decided, the report said.
Authorities identified White as a suspect Saturday and city fire investigators obtained a warrant for her arrest. She was taken into custody Tuesday shortly after a funeral for Brooks, FOX 5 reported.
Protesters had gathered outside Atlanta's Fulton County Jail on Tuesday night, demanding White's release.
Body camera footage of the shooting incident revealed that Brooks suggested to officers he could go to his girlfriend’s house nearby, and he named White.
“You know, Natalie White, she’s my girlfriend. She left. I said, 'Baby, I’ll get Wendy’s and then I’ll go back ...'" Brooks is heard saying on the video.
Police fatally shot Brooks as he ran away from them after pointing a stun gun at them. Brooks had grabbed the stun gun away from one of the officers during a struggle as he was being arrested.
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Police had been called to the Wendy’s on a report of a man sleeping in a car that was parked in the restaurant’s drive-thru area. Police video showed the officers spoke calmly with Brooks at first and then the struggle ensued.
Brooks’ death led to the destruction of the restaurant and other violence, and to the reassignment of the city’s police chief and criminal charges against two city police officers – including a felony murder charge against former Officer Garrett Rolfe, who was fired after the shooting.
