A man just released from prison in March is now suspected of killing an 81-year-old woman as she played cards on her porch.
Johnny Maurice Avery, 30, of Atlanta, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder in the death of Mildred Martin, Officer Ralph Woolfolk said. Avery was booked into the Fulton County jail.
Officers were called about 11 p.m. Monday to the 900 block of Proctor Street, where they found Martin shot to death on her porch. She had been playing two-handed spades with a neighbor when a stray bullet came through the porch screen and struck her in the back, police said.
A registered sex offender, Avery was released from prison in March after serving since April 2011 for a child molestation conviction in Henry County, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He was also previously convicted of false imprisonment, records showed.
Avery was also behind bars from August 2007 until the following April, and from October 2008 until July 2010, according to DOC records.
He was denied bond Friday morning at his first court appearance, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said. Avery’s next court appearance is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 14.
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