ATLANTA – A man accused of trying to steal a pickup truck, then killing the truck's owner in broad daylight outside of a popular Kroger store has been arrested more than 19 times in eight years, records show.
Friday morning, Damarius Thompson waived his first appearance in front of a judge.
Thompson's criminal history is long and convoluted, but it shows a pattern of a man who spent years in and out of state prisons and county jails. His latest release was just days before the alleged murder of contractor Josh Richey in the parking lot of the Kroger grocery store on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
Thompson's pattern of legal crime began before he was a legal adult.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections and online court records, Thompson's first arrest came in 2007 in DeKalb County. The then-17-year-old was charged with theft by receiving and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Thompson was eventually sentenced to probation for those crimes.
From there, Thompson would go on to face arrest in at least five other Georgia counties – Carroll, Taylor, Dodge, Gwinnett and Fulton. In Fulton County alone, Thompson was arrested at least 13 times.
Over eight years, he faced nearly a dozen different charges – including aggravated stalking, car theft, simple battery and gun possession. At times, his stints behind bars were literally back-to-back.
He served two sentences in Georgia state prison, both in less than two years. In the second sentence, he was released on January 7, 2014. Fulton County records show that exact same day, he was booked into the Fulton County Jail on five bench warrants.
The months before Josh Richey's death, Thompson bounced between three county jails. 11Alive traced his criminal history to Carroll County, where he was released on March 5 on probation. Five days later, Josh Richey was dead.
Police say Thompson did not act alone, and are looking for the second suspect seen in surveillance video, leaving the Kroger parking lot in a black BMW. A Crime Stoppers tip initially led to Thompson's arrest, now police are asking the public to call again if they have any information about the second subject. The Crime Stoppers number is 404-577-TIPS (8477).
