A Fulton County inmate who was being held in the Cobb County Jail was strangled Friday morning by his cellmate, authorities said.
Horace Gibbs, 63, was discovered unresponsive in the early morning hours after his cellmate, Ernest Johnson, notified deputies, the Fulton sheriff’s office said. Gibbs was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officials said an autopsy performed by the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Gibb’s death a homicide, and Johnson was then charged in the death.
Johnson, 52, is facing charges of murder and aggravated assault strangulation.
Gibbs was arrested in September 2022 by Atlanta police on charges of criminal trespass, simple battery against law enforcement and willful obstruction of law enforcement. He was being held on a $12,500 bond, the sheriff’s office said.
Johnson was arrested early last month by Union City police on three counts of terroristic threats and two counts of willful obstruction of law enforcement, officials confirmed. He was being held on a $6,500 bond.
The men were being held at the Cobb jail because the Fulton sheriff’s department outsources residents to Cobb County, Oconee County and the Atlanta City Detention Center.
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