NFL
Chris Johnson Facing Accusations of Taking Part in Murder-For-Hire Scheme
Mike Thomas spent 23 years on staff and 16 years as the sports editor at The Herald News in Fall River, Mass., before joining Sportscasting in 2020. Mike has a deep knowledge of and passion for the NFL and NBA, and he excels at interviewing sports celebrities to find out their Super Bowl picks. A New England Newspaper and Press Association award-winning columnist and an avid sports memorabilia collector, Mike enjoys keeping up with all the sports news and the works of former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly. You can find more of Mike's work on Muck Rack.
Get to know Mike Thomas betterPublished09 Apr 2020
Three days after saying he made a horrible decision of signing a football contract with the New York Jets back in 2014, Chris Johnson may have made a few other poor decisions. The former 2,000-yard running back is accused of funding murder-for-hire shootings that left two men dead in 2016. — this according to explosive court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.
Chris Johnson was just reminiscing about the past
On April 6, Chris Johnson was thinking out loud (via Twitter), saying how he made a poor decision when he became a free agent in 2014. The speedy running back enjoyed six stellar seasons with the Tennessee Titans where he rushed for nearly 8,000 yards.
Johnson followed a very impressive rookie season with one of the best seasons ever by a running back. Johnson, a 5-foot-11 back known for his speed and elusiveness, racked up 2,006 yards in his sophomore season and included 14 rushing touchdowns and a pair of receiving TDs.
When he became a free agent in 2014, Johnson had a few options on the table. He inked a three-year deal for $9 million with the New York Jets which turned out to be a bad move. Johnson ran for 663 yards and one touchdown in his only season with the Jets. He only started six games for them. Johnson was released with two years remaining on his deal. In his Twitter post on Monday, Johnson said he can’t believe he chose the Jets over the Baltimore Ravens.
Chris Johnson was shot in 2015
In 2015, Chris Johnson was shot in the shoulder in a drive-by shooting in Orlando during a ‘targeted’ attack that left his friend dead. The shooting happened after a visit to Lux Nightclub and happened at 4:09 a.m. Johnson’s friend Dreekius Oricko Johnson, 28, died behind the wheel of a Jeep and Johnson was a passenger in the front seat.
According to the sheriff’s office, an unknown vehicle pulled up at a red light and shot into the Jeep Johnson was riding in. Chris Johnson would only say that he saw “a car roll by and they shot,” according to the police report.
Records show that Dreekius Johnson spent almost four years at a Florida prison for an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge and two cocaine possession charges in 2005. He was released from prison in September 2009.
In January of 2015, Chris Johnson has been arrested after police officers found two semiautomatic handguns inside his vehicle. He was charged with a misdemeanor: open carrying of firearms.
Johnson adamantly denies latest accusations
According to court documents, Johnson is accused of paying a suspected gang member for allegedly killing two men who shot him and killed his friend in 2015. Johnson vehemently denies any involvement. “There’s no validity to any of these accusations,” Johnson’s rep told TMZ.
Johnson, 34, has not been charged with a crime but prosecutors believe he paid a “noted Florida gang member” named Dominic Bolden to kill the suspected gunmen in a March 2015 drive-by shooting in Orlando.
Back when Johnson was shot, police said he was uncooperative during questioning. Officers now believe the shooting was a “gang related murder attempt” on Johnson.
At the time of the March 2015 shooting, Johnson was tagged in a social media post that appeared to be a threat directed at the gunmen. Johnson denied he was seeking revenge, saying “I don’t live that life.”
