Nearly two months after a gay man was killed in what police classified as a hate-motivated shooting, a man accused of pulling the trigger has been arrested, officials said.
U.S. marshals and DeKalb County sheriff’s fugitive unit agents arrested Tyreese Johnson, 19, in Lithonia on Wednesday on charges of felony murder and armed robbery, according to sheriff’s office spokeswoman Cynthia Williams.
Two others, Shaleeya Nicole Moore and Joshua Cortez Ellis, were previously arrested in connection with the incident.
Johnson is accused of fatally shooting 28-year-old Ronald “Trey” Peters on June 4, Williams said. Johnson was booked into the DeKalb jail Wednesday, records show.
The gunman used an anti-gay slur as he ordered Peters to turn over his bag, according to a DeKalb police report.
Witnesses said as Peters walked down Orchard Circle, two men got out of a truck and put on masks. Peters’ partner told investigators he was on his way to the MARTA station before work.
“The witness then stated one of the unidentified suspects shot the victim in the chest with a chrome pistol, then proceeded to shoot him again in the neck after he was on the ground and took his bag,” the incident report said.
Bystanders told police the men left in a maroon, four-door truck driven by a third person.
RELATED: Police say DeKalb gunman used anti-gay slur before shooting man
Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office
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Investigators checked the box on the report indicating the crime was “hate motivated.” Georgia is one of four states that does not have hate crime laws, which allow for steeper penalties against certain bias-related crimes.
Peters, who was from Pell City, Ala., worked at Regional Medical Group in Decatur as a case manager.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Last month, police released surveillance photos of three people of interest in the deadly shooting. Both Moore and Ellis, 21, were among the people shown in the photos, police spokesman Sgt. J.D. Spencer.
MORE: 3 people of interest sought in alleged hate-motivated shooting death of Decatur man
Moore is in the DeKalb jail facing felony murder and armed robbery charges.
Ellis, of College Park, was previously charged in the incident. He was already in jail when the murder charge was levied against him.
He had been arrested June 6 by deputies in Clayton County after being wanted for armed robbery and aggravated assault, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. He’s accused of robbing and pistol-whipping a man May 5.
MORE: Suspect arrested, 2 others sought in alleged hate-motivated shooting of Decatur man
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