Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson has been accused of trying to hire a gang member to kill someone, who he says shot him and killed his friend back in 2015.
Johnson has not yet been arrested for the crime, but Florida prosecutors maintain that he paid “noted gang member” Dominic Bolden to kill a man suspected in the 2015 shooting in Orlando, the New York Post reported.
The 2015 shooting, which occurred two years after the Titans released Johnson, sent the player to the hospital with a bullet wound to his right shoulder. Johnson recovered but one of the player’s friends, Dreekius Johnson (not related), died after being shot in the head during the incident.
Officials maintain that the 2015 shooting was a “gang-related murder attempt.”
The three-time Pro Bowl player was reportedly uncooperative with police after what officials felt was a targeted shooting, and now prosecutors hint that the reason for this is because Johnson was plotting his revenge.
A police investigation alleges that Johnson was involved in retaliation for the 2015 shooting in two incidents in 2016, where rival gang members were gunned down. Prosecutors also allege that Johnson then joined a drug dealing scheme and provided the gang member with “funds and an individual” who could get him narcotics for trafficking.
The “murder for hire” scheme also allegedly gave Bolden street cred and led to his advancement as the leader of the drug trafficking outfit.
Johnson denies any part in the crimes alleged by prosecutors.
After spending five seasons with the Titans, Johnson’s NFL career quickly fell apart. He spent a single season with the New York Jets, and three unremarkable years with the Arizona Cardinals before his NFL career ended in 2017.
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