Police make arrest in death of homeless Gainesville man

Gainesville police have made an arrest in the death of a homeless man found unconscious and bleeding on railroad tracks earlier this week.

Dexter Pulliam (Gainesville PD)

Police arrested 51-year-old Dexter Barnard Pulliam of Gainesville in the October 18 death of Leon Hicks.

The 66-year-old Hicks was found slumped over the tracks near Georgia Avenue and Industrial Boulevard bleeding from his head and hands. Medical personnel who responded to the scene were unable to save him.

An autopsy revealed Hicks was murdered. According to police, interviews and forensic evidence led to Pulliam as a suspect in the case.

Investigators believe the two men were members of a homeless encampment in the area and knew each other. On October 22, they arrested Pulliam on charges of felony malice murder and booked him into the Hall County Jail.