The mystery surrounding the February shooting death of a 15-year-old football star at his family's Norcross home appears closer to resolution after federal prosecutors Monday revealed a possible link between the valedictorian's fatal shooting and his father's indictment on drug and money laundering charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Skye Davis testified Monday that two of the seven men charged with Nicholas Jackson's murder told the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office they targeted the Autry Street residence for robbery because they believed his father had a cache of drugs and cash in the home.
Nicholas Jackson Sr., 38, was one of 14 men indicted Wednesday as part of a Mexican narcotics ring in which federal agents said they seized approximately $1.6 million worth of cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Jackson was among several local couriers who facilitated the distribution of the drugs.
The seven men charged in the killing of Jackson's son were not a part of the federal investigation, Davis said.
Dennis Scheib, an attorney who represented one of the seven co-defendants at his bond hearing, said his client, Timothy Lamar Johnson, told him Jackson was known to be a major drug dealer.
"It answers a lot of questions about this case," Scheib told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One question has been, where the alleged thieves got nearly $20,000 in cash found in their minivan minutes after the shooting.
Initially, Jackson's father told police that only about $600 to $700 was missing from his home. Mike Morrison, Gwinnett County assistant district attorney, said in February that investigators did not believe the $20,000 came from the Jackson residence.
Morrison did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Norcross police found the money stuffed in a black bag and hidden in a compartment of the suspects' Dodge Caravan. Authorities also located four semiautomatic handguns, two ski masks, two pairs of latex gloves and a roll of duct tape when officers stopped the minivan about a third of a mile from the Jacksons' home.
Nick Jackson's 17-year-old sister, Nikia, found her brother unconscious in the basement after hearing noises that turned out to be gunshots. The Norcross High School student died on the way to the hospital.
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