Man pleads guilty to ‘brutal’ attack of veteran, 93, who died months later

Officials explained that although the veteran, Arthur Johnson, died months later, Harvey was not charged in his death.

“Mr. Johnson was hospitalized two weeks after the assault and died four months later. While his health declined rapidly after the attack, medical records could not conclusively confirm Mr. Johnson’s death was caused by the attack,” a district attorney’s office spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by email Wednesday evening.

Johnson would often visit the pharmacy, and on the day of the attack, he sat in the store for a while before returning to his car and falling asleep. When he woke up, someone was choking him, DA’s office spokeswoman Lisa Myers said.

Authorities said a CVS employee who witnessed the “brutal” assault asked Harvey what he was doing, to which he claimed he was helping the victim get into his car. He then threw Johnson to the ground and took off running with his phone, wallet and keys, Myers confirmed.

Harvey was arrested nearby after a chase. Myers said that because of his criminal history, Harvey is not eligible for parole.

According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Harvey had been released from prison about three months prior to the attack and had been in and out of prison since 1992. He had been convicted of several charges in DeKalb, including burglary, second-degree criminal damage, possession of tools to commit a crime and criminal trespass, online records show.