REMEMBERING BILLEY JOE - Billey Joe Johnson Jr Laid to Rest - Questions Remain [View All]

[Dennis Donovan]

http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/news.ssf?/base/news/1229858108221600.xml&coll=5

Sunday, December 21, 2008
By APRIL M. HAVENS
LUCEDALE George County High School football star Billey Joe Johnson Jr. was remembered Saturday for his blazing speed, strong faith and respectful demeanor.

More than 800 people crowded the 11 a.m. service at George County Middle School's gymna-

sium, where football-themed items surrounded Johnson's casket. One standing flower arrangement shaped like a jersey showed the running back's number, 21, traced in white flowers.

Johnson, a 17-year-old high school junior, died Dec. 8 of a single gunshot wound after being stopped for a traffic violation on Miss. 26 in the Benndale community. Authorities have suggested Johnson shot himself, possibly by accident.

His death is under investigation by Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.
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NAACP: Death wasn't suicide

The NAACP has determined through an independent investigation that George County High School football star Billey Joe John son Jr. did not commit suicide last week during a traffic stop in Lucedale, the vice president of the organization's Mississippi chapter said Sunday.

Curley Clark said the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People plans to have a second, independent autopsy performed on Johnson's body, with results expected to be announced later this week.

"The NAACP, along with the family, have determined that Billey Joe Johnson did not commit suicide," Clark said.

The NAACP's conclusion does not rule out the possibility that Johnson accidentally shot himself, Clark said.

"At this point, nothing is concrete until the results of the autopsies have been made known," Clark said.

The organization based its findings on interviews with people who knew Johnson and on physical evidence, Clark said, although Clark declined to detail the physical evidence, citing legal concerns. Clark said nothing supports the notion that the junior running back was in the state of mind to kill himself.
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