Johnson had faced murder a charge, and he spent more than three years in jail awaiting trial. A special prosecutor appointed last year threw out that charge and issued the new one.

Johnson has always said he didn't participate in the killing of Willis, a Wilson teen who was found raped and shot to death a day after she disappeared from a shopping center.

The special prosecutor, Forsyth Assistant District Attorney Belinda Foster, said her two-month review of the case did not find evidence to support the more serious charges.

The accessory charge relates to a 2004 statement Johnson made to police that he helped clean Willis' vehicle. Kenneth Meeks had stolen the vehicle in a carjacking attempt that led to Meeks kidnapping, raping and killing Willis.

Meeks pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is in prison for life.

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