A DeKalb County man has been sentenced to a stark stretch of 20 years, with a mandatory 15-year confinement, after pleading guilty to a series of charges including elder abuse, robbery by force, and obstruction of law enforcement. The conviction is tied to a 2022 assault of a 93-year-old World War II veteran, named Arthur Johnson, in a CVS parking lot.
As per details reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, Samuel Harvey, 62, admitted to the crimes surrounding the attack on July 25, 2022. DeKalb County Police officers were called to the CVS on Candler Road and found Harvey attempting to flee the scene. An arrest ensued shortly after the observation.
Further insights from WSBTV reveal that Johnson, the nonagenarian veteran, had returned to his car in the pharmacy's lot to catch a rest. His slumber was brutally interrupted by Harvey who choked him, as Johnson later described to the authorities. When a CVS employee intervened, asking Harvey what was occurring, he deceitfully claimed he was merely aiding Johnson into his car before he launched an assault and robbed the elderly man of his belongings.
The assault had lingering effects on Johnson who initially rebuffed medical treatment; however, two weeks later, his condition necessitated hospitalization, and he passed away four months after the incident. Due to Harvey's prior criminal history, his sentence carries the weight of no eligibility for parole.
