Ex-NFL star Chris Johnson accused of murder for hire, denies allegations
Documents emerge suggesting that evidence is being gathered to launch a case against the former professional athlete
Chris Johnson, former NFL star running back, is being accused in court documents of paying a man to murder two people in 2016.
[griojw id=”9th0HtCI” playerid=””]
Chris Johnson, former NFL star running back, is being accused in court documents of paying a man to murder two people in 2016.
Although Johnson has never been charged in criminal court in the deaths of either man, TMZ Sports claims to have obtained documents that law enforcement officials are trying to piece together the puzzle in a potential case against him.
READ MORE: Titans’ Chris Johnson to be NFL’s highest-paid RB
Johnson maintains he has done nothing wrong.
Officials, however, believe Johnson paid Dominic Bolden, a reported Florida gang member, in cash to murder two men he believed killed his friend, Dreekius Johnson, and wounded him in an Orlando shooting in 2015.
TMZ Sports reports that in the early morning of March 8, 2015, someone shot up a Jeep that the football player and his friend, Dreekius Johnson, were seated in. Dreekius was killed and Chris suffered a bullet wound to his shoulder.
In the court documents, law enforcement writes that “intelligence gathered suggested (the shooting) was a gang related murder attempt on Chris Johnson.”
Almost a year later, officials say Bolden shot and killed two men, the first on Jan. 19, 2016 and the second on July 24, 2016, after they were suspected to be the shooters in the earlier shooting.
Officials say an informant told them that Johnson rewarded Bolden with money and helped him quickly rise up the ranks inside of a Florida drug trafficking organization (DTO), by putting him in touch with someone who supplied Bolden with narcotics for the organization.
The informant reportedly told law enforcement the “murder for hire elevated Dominic Bolden’s rank, reputation and power within the DTO,” according to the court documents.
Law enforcement says Johnson, 34, is also involved in the DTO.
READ MORE: Chris Johnson pays tribute to Newtown victims on ‘Monday Night Football’
TMZ Sports attempted to contact prosecutors with the state attorney’s office and the attorney general’s office in Florida, but neither could be reached for comment.
A rep for Johnson said the allegations are unfounded and untrue.
“There’s no validity to any of these accusations,” the rep told TMZ Sports.
Johnson was drafted by the Tennessee Titans but also played for the New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals. He rushed for 9,561 yards over his 10-year career, earning the nickname CJ2K.
You Might Like
