Yahoo News Chris Johnson tweets 'false news' following report linking him to alleged murder-for-hire scheme
Former NFL running back Chris Johnson has responded following a TMZ report on Thursday linking him to an alleged murder-for-hire scheme from 2016.
TMZ cited court documents early Thursday that said Johnson is accused of paying off a gang member who allegedly killed two men suspected of killing a friend of his in 2015. Johnson is not facing charges, per the report.
Johnson later tweeted “False news!!!!!” presumably in response to the report.
False news!!!!!
— Chris Johnson (@ChrisJohnson28) April 9, 2020
A representative for Johnson told TMZ “there's no validity to any of these accusations.”
Report linked to 2015 drive-by shooting
According to TMZ, the accusations are linked to a March 8, 2015 drive-by shooting in Orlando, when Johnson and two other men were in a Jeep stopped at a traffic light. Johnson and another passenger, Reggie Johnson, suffered gunshot wounds to their shoulders when a man from another vehicle opened fire on their Jeep around 4 a.m., according to sheriff’s deputies.
The driver of the vehicle, Dreekius Oricko Johnson, was killed. The shooting occurred during the same offseason Johnson signed with the Arizona Cardinals after being released by the New York Jets.
TMZ cites court documents that state “intelligence gathered suggested [the shooting] was a gang-related murder attempt on Chris Johnson.”
TMZ also cites officials accusing alleged gang member Dominic Bolden of carrying out the deaths linked to the report.
From the report:
Officials also say ... months later, a noted Florida gang member named Dominic Bolden shot and killed two men — one on Jan. 19, 2016 and one on July 24, 2016 — who were believed to be the shooters in the March 2015 incident.
In the court docs, officials claim an informant told them as a reward for Bolden's alleged actions ... Chris helped the guy become a leader of a famed drug trafficking organization (DTO) in Florida.
Johnson played 10 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl during his first three years in the league. He earned the nickname CJ2K after his 2009 season with the Tennessee Titans that saw him tally 2,006 rushing yards along with 503 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns.
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