Former NFL Star Chris Johnson Accused in Murder-for-Hire Case, Denies Allegations

Then-Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson talks with teammates on the sideline in the third quarter of a preseason NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, in Nashville, Tenn., on Aug. 8, 2013. AP Photo/Wade Payne, File

Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who set the NFL record for yards from scrimmage in 2009, is accused of paying suspected gang members in a murder-for-hire plot, according to court documents.

Johnson, 34, has not been charged with a crime, but court documents obtained by TMZ said Johnson is being suspected in the deaths of two men who were shot and killed in 2016.

The former All-Pro running back denied the allegations. He last played in the NFL in 2017.

“There’s no validity to any of these accusations,” a representative for Johnson told the website.

It’s not clear when or if he will be charged with a crime.

In March 2015, Johnson was the passenger in a Jeep traveling in Florida when he was shot in the shoulder, later posting about the incident—along with a graphic photo of his injury—during a drive-by shooting. His friend, the driver, was shot in the head and died, according to Reuters.

Court documents said that “intelligence gathered suggested [the shooting] was a gang-related murder attempt on Chris Johnson,” TMZ reported. The two men who were suspected in the drive-by incident were later found dead in 2016.

Johnson is now accused of paying an alleged gang member, identified as Dominic Bolden, to kill the two men suspected in the drive-by shooting, and of providing him money and a person who could help Bolden organize a drug trafficking operation.

The Titans selected Johnson, who went to East Carolina University, 24th in the 2008 NFL Draft. During his second season in the league, he rushed for more than 2,000 yards for the rushing title that year.

Johnson, who was called “CJ2K,” amassed more than 9,500 rushing yards over his 10-year career and was one of the fastest players to ever play in the league.