Verdict in for ‘Southern Justice’ deputy accused of killing NC Christmas tree farmer

A former N.C sheriff’s deputy who starred on the National Geographic Channel’s “Southern Justice” reality show was acquitted of a murder charge on Monday.

A Yadkin County jury found Joshua Franklin “Hoppy” Hopkins not guilty in the fatal 2015 shooting of a belligerent Christmas tree farmer in the N.C. mountains, media outlets reported.

Hopkins was indicted on a second-degree murder charge in the death of 62-year-old Ashe County farmer Dallas Arthur Shatley.

Video evidence showed officers trying to take a firearm from Shatley’s truck after responding to a disturbance call at the farmer’s home, the Johnson City Press reported. Shatley’s truck began moving, with Hopkins hanging onto the truck before breaking away. Hopkins and the chief sheriff’s deputy fired at the driver as he steered the truck toward Hopkins, according to the newspaper.

The trial was moved to Yadkin County after prosecutors cited a conflict of interest, WCYB, a TV station in Bristol, Va., reported on Monday with news of the verdict. The jury received the case on Friday and reached the verdict mid-afternoon Monday, according to the station.

The Blue Blood Brotherhood, a Florida-based nonprofit that supports officers, held a fundraiser at a Johnson City, Tenn., restaurant this year to help raise money for Hopkins. The organization announced Monday’s verdict on Facebook.

“This case was BS from the start,” a retired Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant posted on Blue Blood Brotherhood’s Facebook page. “Thank God the great people of Yadkin County could see the DA was full of **** and did the right thing. Hoppy will never regain the 3 years of hell they have put him through. Thank GOD Hoppy is a very strong man and was able to get through this, some people may not have been that strong.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2018 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Verdict in for ‘Southern Justice’ deputy accused of killing NC Christmas tree farmer."