Police make arrest in deadly Kroger shooting

ATLANTA — Atlanta police have made an arrest after a man was fatally shot outside a Kroger grocery store in northeast Atlanta.

Investigators said Demarius Thompson, 29, was arrested Thursday afternoon at a Popeyes restaurant for the murder of Joshua Richey, 38, of Hayden, Alabama.

Richey, a father of four, was killed March 10 in the parking lot of the Kroger on Ponce de Leon Avenue. Investigators said they believe that Thompson was trying to steal Richey's truck and tools from the store parking lot when Richey was shot.

Atlanta Deputy Chief Darryl Tolleson called Thompson a career criminal with arrests for violent crimes.

Police said Thompson had 19 cycles in and out of prison, and had been released from prison just three days before the Kroger shooting.

Officers said a tip came in just one day after releasing surveillance video from the incident to the media. 

The grocery store in the city's Poncey Highlands neighborhood where Richey was shot was given the nickname "Murder Kroger" years ago by Atlanta residents after a dead body was found inside a car in the store's parking lot.

Kroger officials have worked to rebrand the store, calling it "Beltline Kroger," a reference to a trail that loops the city and connects many of its neighborhoods.

Investigators are still working to identify Thompson's accomplice.

WSBTV