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Central Point police arrested a 51-year-old transient accused of killing a man on the Bear Creek Greenway.{br class="hardreturn" /} The Central Point Police Department said in a news release that Michael Joseph Atwood will be charged with murder in connection with the death of Rickey Michael Lemich, who was also 51 and also homeless.{br class="hardreturn" /} Police said officers were sent around 9 a.m. Wednesday to check on a man on the Greenway. When officers arrived on scene, they found Lemich's body amid suspicious circumstances and called in the Jackson County Major Assault and Death Investigation Unit to assist detectives.{br class="hardreturn" /} Central Point police Lt. Scott Logue declined to specify exactly where the body was found on the Greenway but noted there is a small section of the pedestrian and bicycle path that falls within Central Point's jurisdiction. By 1 p.m., police evidence technicians were working in a taped-off section of the Greenway directly east of the Pilot truck stop at East Pine Street and Peninger Road.{br class="hardreturn" /} Atwood was arrested near the scene within minutes of the discovery of Lemich's body and reportedly spent the morning being interviewed by detectives.{br class="hardreturn" /} Court records show Atwood's criminal history in Jackson County stretches as far back as 1989, with numerous felony convictions for drug possession and manufacture. He also has multiple prior arrests on burglary, robbery and assault charges, none of which resulted in convictions. In one 2011 case, Atwood was charged with third-degree assault, menacing, harassment and disorderly conduct after he allegedly helped two men beat another with a baseball bat. All but the menacing charge were later dismissed under a plea agreement.{br class="hardreturn" /} Logue said the case is the first in the city's jurisdiction to require a MADIU callout in several years.{br class="hardreturn" /} "From my recollection, the last one was four years ago," he said, referring to the September 2011 murder of Jessica Starr Bethany by her former boyfriend, Jeffrey Wayne Wheeler. Wheeler was convicted a year later and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. {br class="hardreturn" /} Atwood's arrest marks Jackson County's second criminal homicide case this year. Matthew Shawn Hannon, 28, was arrested by Jackson County sheriff's detectives July 18 in connection with the fatal stabbing of 45-year-old Frank Morgan Wheeler outside Rogue River earlier that day.{br class="hardreturn" /} Atwood was lodged in the Jackson County Jail without bail. Reach reporter Thomas Moriarty at 541-776-4471, or by email at [email protected] . Follow him at @ThomasDMoriarty . {br class="hardreturn" /}