21-year-old arrested in beating death of homeless man in Midtown

Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson

Atlanta police have made an arrest in the beating death of a homeless man found blocks from the Fox Theatre in Midtown, investigators announced.

Michael Johnson, 21, of Plainville, was located Monday morning on Peachtree Street, not far from where police found Moses Cooper, 59, dead from blunt force trauma last week.

Atlanta police identified Michael Johnson as the person of interest in the murder of Moses Cooper, as seen in a video released by police last week. (Photo: Atlanta Police Department)

icon to expand image

“He was taken into custody without incident and transported to Fulton County Jail on a charge of murder,” Atlanta police spokesman Officer Jarius Daugherty told AJC.com.

Moses Cooper (Photo: Channel 2 Action News)

icon to expand image

Police initially asked for the public’s help to identify two men seen talking outside the Sprint store in the 800 block of Peachtree Street, between 5th and 6th streets. Cooper’s body was found on the sidewalk outside the store about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

RELATED COVERAGE: Homeless man found beaten to death on Midtown sidewalk

Investigators released surveillance video of the exchange Thursday. It was believed the two men shown 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.