OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department says there’s not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges in the death of a Mississippi high school football player who died of a gunshot after he was stopped by a deputy in 2008.
The agency says in a news release the family of Billey Joe Johnson was informed Friday.
On Dec. 8, 2008, Deputy Joe Sullivan stopped Johnson for running a red light. As he went back to the cruiser to run a driver’s license check, Sullivan says Johnson shot himself.
Federal officials say they reviewed evidence that included witness statements and forensic reports before making the decision.
Johnson’s death has inflamed suspicion, with his family and the NAACP previously rejecting any notion that the black teen committed suicide.
