6 News Exclusive: Homeless Omaha man remembered by friends after he was attacked, died at hospital

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Friends and loved ones honor a local man who lived on the streets.

They did so from the same spot where he was found beaten a month ago.

An Omaha man is in custody for assaulting a homeless man around Halloween. He will soon be facing upgraded charges.

That’s because the victim recently died in the hospital.

The victim’s name is Leroy Johnson. He was 43 and homeless.

Friends say he was jumped from behind near the downtown shelter on Oct. 30, hit in the head and then kicked.

He spent the following two-and-a-half weeks on life support.

“It’s hard for me to be down here,” his partner Tanya said.

Tuesday afternoon Tanya, his partner of 22 years, said goodbye.

“Leroy was a good man. He was friends to everybody. He’s a great father. He has three wonderful children and two grandbabies.”

“He was my dad,” Page said. “Even though he wasn’t a blood relative, he was easy to talk to.”

A number of friends also sent balloons soaring in Leroy’s honor.

They picked this spot in the Siena Francis homeless shelter’s parking lot for a reason. It’s where Leroy Johnson was found by a friend motionless.

None of them know why he was targeted Oct. 30.

“Why would someone want to jump another guy on the street? They didn’t even know each other. It was a case of mistaken identity,” Tanya said.

The suspect is 27-year-old Ulysses Ambrix.

He had been banned and barred from the Siena Francis House.

The victim’s partner says investigators told her he’ll be looking at manslaughter charges now.

6 News reporters first met Tanya and Leroy in September as shelter officials began clearing the nearby outdoor camping sites where they lived.

Now with Leroy Johnson’s death, Tanya’s path forward seems more uncertain.

“He was my best friend. I don’t know what to do.”

Tanya says that once investigators are done with the body she plans to have a memorial service for Leroy.

As for the criminal case, she says she simply wants justice for what happened.

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