Atlanta Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive arrested by SWAT team in Florida, police say

One of the Atlanta Police Department's Top 10 Most Wanted fugitives is now in custody after he was apprehended in Florida, officials say.

Authorities say Jonathan Soto was wanted for murder in connection with the killing of Michael Gidewon, the co-owner of the now-closed Republic Lounge.

According to police, officers were called to the nightclub on Brady Avenue NW on the morning of Feb. 4, 2023. There, they found a man, later identified as Gidewon, shot in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Homicide investigators identified the suspected gunman as 43-year-old Jonathan Soto. The victim's brother, Alex Gidewon, wrote on Instagram that his family knew Soto for decades and offered a reward of $100,000 for information that led to his arrest.

Soto's location remained a mystery for years until the Atlanta Police Department said its fugitive unit located him in Jacksonville, Florida, using "investigative technology," and contact the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says its SWAT team tracked Soto to an apartment complex on Gate Parkway North. When he refused to come out of an apartment, the SWAT team used a door breach to arrest him.

Soto is now in custody at the Duval County Jail awaiting extradition to Georgia.