Atlanta police open 3 homicide cases within 8 hours

2 arrested on murder charges in separate incidents
A deadly shooting at the AMLI Lenox apartment building on Lakeside Drive in Buckhead was one of three killings investigated by the Atlanta Police Department over the course of eight hours Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

A deadly shooting at the AMLI Lenox apartment building on Lakeside Drive in Buckhead was one of three killings investigated by the Atlanta Police Department over the course of eight hours Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Within the span of eight hours, Atlanta police were called to three separate homicide scenes at locations across the city.

The killings did not discriminate by neighborhood. The three victims, all men, were killed at a luxury apartment building in Buckhead, an apartment complex near Custer Avenue to the southeast, and a boarded-up home in Bankhead.

Arrests have been made in two of the cases, the police department announced Friday, but all three remain under investigation.

The first shooting Thursday took place at the AMLI Lenox apartments at 3478 Lakeside Drive at about 4:40 p.m., police said. The victim, identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office as 26-year-old Arlontae Marks, was found critically wounded and later died at a hospital.

The apartment building is located across the street from Lenox Square, separated from the shopping mall by a Marriott hotel and several other residential buildings. Video taken by WSB traffic reporter Mark McKay from his nearby condo showed a white sedan peeling out of a parking spot blocked by a yellow sedan, then driving away with a police patrol car in pursuit.

A distraught woman can be heard in the video, screaming, “They are right there! Go get them!”

A second video shows the woman running to the yellow car, then back toward the building. A police officer arrives and follows her into the apartment complex.

In a statement, police said the shooting developed from an “ongoing dispute between known parties” and a suspect was detained at the scene. Xavier Frison, of Fairburn, was arrested on a murder charge related to the incident and was booked into the Fulton County Jail on Friday, police said.

Xavier Frison was arrested on a murder charge a Nov. 10 shooting at a Buckhead apartment building that killed 26-year-old Arlontae Marks.

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office

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Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Less than two hours after the shooting in Buckhead, police were called to the Park Vista Apartments on Fisher Road regarding a dispute. They found a victim with severe injuries who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

George Sharrod Johns was arrested on a charge of murder in connection with the man’s death, according to police. He was taken to the Fulton jail, where he is being held without bond. The victim’s name and cause of death was not released.

George Sharrod Johns was arrested Nov. 10 on a charge of murder in connection with a deadly shooting on Fisher Street on the same date.

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office

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Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Early Friday morning, shortly after midnight, the third homicide brought officers to the 900 block of Pelham Street west of Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. That victim had been shot multiple times and was also pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

His name was not released Friday as next of kin had not been notified. No arrests have been announced in the third case, and no information on a possible motive was provided.

Anyone with information on any of the three deaths is asked to contact Atlanta police. 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 the Crime Stoppers website.

— Staff writer Caroline Silva contributed to this article.