Aeman Presley had a loaded gun and additional ammunition when he was arrested last week after trying to board a MARTA train without paying, police said at a Tuesday morning press conference.
Investigators suggested Presley — charged with four murders in a little more than three months — planned to kill again.
“He initially targeted homeless individuals and it escalated,” Atlanta Police Capt. Paul Guerrucci said. That “escalation” led Presley to allegedly target a victim who, unlike the first three, was not homeless.
Smyrna hairstylist Karen Pearce, 44, was confronted and shot while walking alone to her car in downtown Decatur on Dec. 6 after a dinner date with friends.
Decatur Police Chief Mike Booker said Presley, once in custody, confessed to killing Pearce.
“He was very forthcoming,” Guerrucci said.
The 34-year-old unemployed actor was “visibly nervous” when MARTA police arrested him for trying to board a train without paying, said the transit agency’s police chief, Wanda Dunham.
Following a brief struggle, the MARTA officers found a silver Taurus revolver and a box of ammunition, which they recognized from media coverage of the killings of homeless men Dorian Jenkins and Tommy Mims, shot multiple times during Thanksgiving week as they slept on Atlanta’s streets. They contacted Atlanta police and the fatal shootings were linked.
Investigators confirmed that Presley has been charged in the slaying of a fourth man, 53-year-old Calvin Gholston, shot multiple times Sept. 27 outside a shopping mall in unincorporated Decatur. DeKalb police say they considered Gholston, who suffered from schizophrenia, to be homeless.
The investigation is “far from over,” said Guerrucci, who would not rule out the possibility that Presley may be involved in other crimes
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