21-year-old arrested in murder of homeless man beaten to death near Fox Theatre

ATLANTA — Atlanta police have made an arrest in the case of a homeless man who was beaten to death just blocks away from the Fox Theatre.

Police have charged 21-year-old Michael Johnson with the murder of 59-year-old Moses Cooper, who was found on Peachtree Street on Wednesday.

Johnson was taken into custody Monday not far from where the beating took place and he was transported to the Fulton County Jail.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Hurricane Florence now major Category 4 hurricane with wind up to 130 mph
• Man says lawn care service killed his yard
• Investing in Nike and students: Austell pastor encourages young members to 'Just Do It'

Channel 2's Darryn Moore was the first reporter at the scene on Peachtree Street Wednesday morning. He saw homicide investigators in the 800 block of Peachtree Street just before 2 a.m.

Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez spoke with Cooper's family members, who said they had been trying to get him off the streets for years.

"It's not fair. It's hard," said his relative Nina L. Scott.

Police identified Johnson as a person of interest and released surveillance video Thursday of him and another man talking with Cooper. It was believed the two in the video frequented Peachtree Street and were also homeless.

Johnson is scheduled to be in court at 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information about the other man in the video is asked to call Atlanta police at 404-291-6163 or 404-546-4295.

Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting crimestoppersatlanta.org.

Information from our partners at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was used in this report. 

Cox Media Group