Atlanta Police ‘Top 10 Most Wanted’ Fug!tive Jonathan Soto Arr*sted In Connection With 2023 M*rder Of Nightclub Owner Michael Gidewon

Jonathan Soto, Michael Gidewon

Atlanta Police ‘Top 10 Most Wanted’ Fug!tive Jonathan Soto Arr*sted In Connection With 2023 M*rder Of Nightclub Owner Michael Gidewon

One of the Atlanta Police Department’s Top 10 Most Wanted f*gitives is now in custody more than three years after the f@tal sh00ting of prominent Atlanta nightlife businessman Michael Gidewon. Authorities say Jonathan Soto, 43, was apprehended in Jacksonville, Florida, this week in connection with Gidewon’s February 2023 k*lling.

Gidewon, 50, was the co-owner of Republic Lounge and a longtime figure in Atlanta’s nightlife scene. Police responded to the club at 990 Brady Avenue NW shortly before 7 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2023, and found Gidewon suffering from a g*nshot wound. He was pronounced d3ad at the scene. Gidewon and his brother, Alex, had been behind several well-known Atlanta nightlife venues over the years, including Vision and Compound.

According to reporting at the time, a man had allegedly been removed from Republic Lounge after appearing intoxicated. Authorities later identified Soto as a suspect in Gidewon’s k*lling. The Associated Press reported that Soto knew the Gidewon family, while Gidewon’s family initially offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Republic Lounge permanently closed following Gidewon’s d3ath.

Atlanta police say investigators used “investigative technology” to locate Soto and shared the information with the U.S. Marshals Service and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Jacksonville authorities said Soto initially refused to leave the apartment where he was located, prompting SWAT officers to breach the door. He was taken into custody without anyone being injured.

Soto was booked into the Duval County Jail and is being held on a f*gitive warrant. Authorities have not publicly announced when he will be returned to Georgia to face proceedings in connection with the case.