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A man was found guilty Thursday in the 2019 death of Aurora Public Schools assistant principal and former University of Colorado football player Anthony “TJ” Cunningham, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced.
Cunningham, who was from Aurora, played receiver and defensive back at the University of Colorado – Boulder. He went on to play in the NFL, where he was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks.
According to the website for Hinkley High School, he was the assistant principal at the school at the time of the shooting. Cunningham also remained involved with CU through an organization called Buffs4Life.
On February 17, 2019, a passerby called 911 after spotting a man bleeding in the parking lot at Eaglecrest High School. Deputies with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office arrived and found Cunningham suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and died the next day, according to the DA’s office.
As deputies were responding to the scene, 911 dispatchers received a call from Marcus Johnson, 34, who admitted to shooting Cunningham. He told dispatchers Cunningham had attacked him earlier in the day, the district attorney’s office said.
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Johnson and Cunningham were neighbors and had an ongoing dispute over a parking spot on a public street between their houses, according to the district attorney’s office.
Before the shooting, the two “taunted each other in the street,” then agreed to resolve the argument in the Eaglecrest High School parking lot, the DA’s office said. Cunningham was then shot twice in the head and chest.
“This defendant arranged a fight and showed up to the Eaglecrest High School parking lot with a gun,” Chief Deputy DA Andrew Steers said in a statement. “This was not a case of self-defense. Johnson made the choice to end a petty dispute with violence.”
A jury found Johnson guilty of second-degree murder Thursday. He will remain in custody until his sentencing, which is scheduled for December 2, according to the district attorney’s office. He faces a maximum of 48 years in prison.
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