In the cold of late November 2014, Tommy Mims, a 68-year-old man known affectionately as 'Can Man,' sought refuge for the night under the concrete expanse of a railway bridge on Whitehall Street in Atlanta. Partially wrapped in a blanket against the chill, he was a familiar and unassuming presence in the area. Tragically, as he slept, he became the victim of a senseless act of violence, shot and killed in the early morning hours of November 26th.
His death was not an isolated incident but part of a string of killings that had begun to instill fear within Atlanta's homeless community.
Just three days prior, another homeless man, Dorian Jenkins, had been found shot to death while sleeping in a small park. The similarities in the cases were alarming to investigators, suggesting a predator was specifically targeting the city's most vulnerable residents as they slept. The Atlanta Police Department, deeply concerned by the pattern, began to warn the homeless population, urging them to be vigilant and to sleep in pairs for safety. The investigation into Mims's death and the connected killings became a high priority, with law enforcement determined to find the person responsible for these cold-blooded attacks.
The break in the case came with the arrest of Aeman Presley, a man who had moved to Atlanta with aspirations of an acting career. Presley was apprehended by MARTA police for attempting to evade a fare. A search revealed he was carrying a firearm that would later be linked to the murders. In custody, Presley confessed to the killings of not only Tommy Mims and Dorian Jenkins, but also two other individuals in DeKalb County, Calvin Gholston and Karen Pearce, over a four-month period. His motive, as described by authorities, was a 'bloodlust' that drove him to kill.
In January 2017, Aeman Presley pleaded guilty to the murders of Tommy Mims and Dorian Jenkins in Fulton County, accepting a plea deal that would spare him the death penalty but ensure he would spend the rest of his life in prison. He was already serving two life sentences for the murders he committed in DeKalb County. Presley's guilty plea brought an end to the legal proceedings and offered a measure of closure to the families of his victims and the communities he had terrorized. The story of Tommy Mims's tragic death and the subsequent investigation was later chronicled in an episode of the true-crime series 'ATL Homicide,' serving as a grim reminder of a dark chapter in the city's history.
