Richmond County authorities were going door to door in the rain Thursday, trying to identify the area’s latest murder victim.
The man was found shot around lunchtime Thursday on the 1000 block of 14th Avenue, sheriff’s Sgt. Caleb Lee said. He was found when deputies responded to the area for a suspicious person. The shooting victim was rushed to the Augusta University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:43 p.m. Thursday, Coroner Mark Bowen said.
On Friday, the coroner identified the man as 63-year-old Earl Johnson, a homeless man. He has spent much of his adult life in and out of prison, with six stints in Georgia prison for crimes including burglary and forgery. He also has previous arrests for cocaine possession and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Investigators are treating the case as a homicide. No arrest or suspect information was released. An autopsy is scheduled.
Note: If you have a better photo of Earl to share, please text it to 803-487-3224.
