Suspect's Mother Says Teen Didn't Murder Grant High School Football Player

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The mother of a teen accused of gunning down a Grant High School football player is speaking out, saying her son's not a murderer.

Sacramento Police announced on Thursday that Keymontae Lindsey, 16, had been arrested in the November shooting death of 18-year-old J.J. Clavo. The Grant High senior was on his way to a team meeting before a playoff game when someone opened fire on the car he was riding in.

Lindsey's mother, Ranika Moore, stands by her son.

"Feel like the system is trying to take my child from me, especially for something he did not do, and I stand by that 1,000 percent," she said.

Moore first heard about her son's charges from Lindsey himself.

"I was livid, angry, hurt, still can't understand," she said.

Students who knew him at Natomas High School in 2014 and 2015 were shocked by the news.

But elsewhere, there was a sense of relief for a community who has rallied for months to find justice for Clavo.

"Our community has been praying that God expose the person who did this," said Sister Pat Roundtree Rivers with the Pastor For His Glory Church

After an intense, three-month investigation, Sacramento Police Chief Sam Somers said Lindsey was the primary suspect in the November homicide.

"Keymontae Lindsey walked up to the side of the vehicle and opened fire, fatally striking J.J. and wounding another student," Somers said.

Nicole Clavo felt a mixture of emotions after the arrest in her son's murder.

"I would have never imagined being in this place, but I never imagined the support that I had at this time," she said.

Lindsey was arrested on an unrelated traffic stop the day after police found a loaded gun in the car. That gun would later be linked to Clavo's murder.

But Lindsey's mom says her son was nowhere near the shooting that day.

"The gun was not found on my son, no fingerprints of my son were on that weapon, there were 4-5 other people in the car," she said.

Now she's the one begging for justice.

"My heart goes out to the family of the deceased, mother and everything, at the same time, my son and family are also victims," she said.

The motive behind the homicide is still unknown, and there may be more arrests as the investigation is still active.

Lindsey is due in court on Monday.