VALDOSTA — A Valdosta teenager who was accused in a civil suit of killing Kendrick Johnson was placed in handcuffs Tuesday morning while U.S. marshals searched his home, seized his electronics and later drove him to Macon for questioning.

Ryan Hall, 19, has not been charged with any crime, but he was named in the $100 million lawsuit filed earlier this year by Johnson’s parents, claiming Hall participated in events which caused their son’s death.

Students found Johnson’s body upside down in a vertically stored gym mat in the school’s old gym in January 2013. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-old’s death accidental, but Johnson’s parents insist their son died of foul play. The case has been under the review of U.S. Attorney Michael Moore for more than a year and a half.

In an exclusive interview with The Valdosta Daily Times, Hall said he had nothing to do with Johnson’s death and explained how he thinks he became caught up in a federal investigation into the death of a kid he “barely knew.”

For more than two years, most of the speculation about possible foul play in Johnson’s death has been focused on Brian and Brandon Bell, the sons of FBI agent Rick Bell.

Last year, Bell and his sons were issued target letters to appear before Moore’s grand jury, but they refused to participate. They were also accused of causing Johnson’s death in the civil suit filed by his parents.

The Bells have emphatically denied any claims they were involved in Johnson’s death or a subsequent cover-up and have filed a countersuit against the Johnsons, claiming defamation.

But the Bells are still a focus of Moore’s office.

This week, federal agents seized the family’s cellphones and computers on the same day Hall heard U.S. marshals pounding on his door.

“It was around 4:30 in the morning, and I was half asleep,” said Hall. “I opened the door. The guy grabbed my arm and put me up against the house and put me in handcuffs and told me to sit down.”

Marshals then entered the home with firearms and demanded his girlfriend drop her phone, said Hall.

“She didn’t know what was going on. She was about to call the cops, and they kept saying, ‘Drop your device, and put your hands up,’” said Hall.

Hall said marshals seized his cell phones and computers and went through the entire house, overturning items and throwing clothes on the floor. Hall said he was shown a warrant but was not given a list of the items taken from his home. He said he was not confrontational during the search and sat on his front porch in handcuffs in disbelief.

The jarring experience is something Hall said he has become used to during the past year. He has been interviewed multiple times by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, appeared before Moore’s grand jury twice and has taken a polygraph test, he said.

In the more than two years since Johnson’s death, Hall appears to be the only person ever placed in handcuffs in connection with the investigation. But Hall said he did not kill Johnson, was not involved in his death and believes Johnson’s death was “a tragic accident.” He also thinks he has been drawn into Moore’s investigation simply because he is Brian Bell’s friend.

In early 2014, Hall was named in an anonymous email sent to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. The emailer claimed her best friend overheard a conversation where Brian’s girlfriend admitted that she knew Brian and Hall had killed Kendrick.

The sheriff’s office investigated the claim and said it had determined it was unfounded. The Times also conducted an interview with the emailer in which she recanted her statements, saying they were “untrue.”

Hall admitted he does not know much about his rights when being questioned by law enforcement, but he said he felt tricked Tuesday morning.

Hall said he declined the marshals’ offer speak to a lawyer because he said he “had nothing to hide,” but when he agreed to go on what was described to him as a “short ride,” he did not believe he would be making the two-hour trip to Macon. He also said he believes he was lied to by the three U.S. marshals who questioned him for more than four hours.

“They said they were coming after me real hard and would not quit until they had me arrested. They said the next time they saw me it would be to put me in jail for murder,” said Hall. “They said they had me on video camera walking to the old gym, and I said, ‘Why would I be in the old gym? Are y’all trying to get me to say something that isn’t true?’”

Hall said the investigators claimed to have tape recordings, text messages and witnesses which implicated him in Johnson’s death but would not tell him exactly what that information was.

“They said, ‘we have more on you than we have on Brian. We have enough on you now to put you away. We’ve got so many witnesses,’” said Hall. “But I said, ‘How do y’all have witnesses? It’s rumors.’ That’s all they are basing this on. If they had that, then I’m pretty sure I would be in handcuffs and in jail.”

Hall said he was asked questions about those same rumors when he appeared before a grand jury last year. When he was given a polygraph test after his testimony, Hall said he was told he lied because he hesitated before one question. He told The Times he answered each question truthfully.

Hall said ever since rumors of his involvement began circulating online through social media sites, he has been subjected to harassment and threats, much like those received by the Bell family. He also said he feels the interrogations and the searches he and the Bells have been subjected to are extensions of that harassment.

“I told them only God knows what happened to Kendrick Johnson, and I wish He could come down and tell them. I really do,” said Hall. “(The investigators) said, ‘You better be praying. You better be praying a lot.”

Hall said he is praying that the case does come to a close and that he approached The Times with his story because he felt it was important for “people to know what is going on and how people are being treated” in this case.

Jason Ferguson, Brian Bell’s lawyer, said what has happened to Hall over the course of this investigation is why he advised his client not to speak with investigators.

“Brian, his parents and I stand by our decision to invoke Brian’s constitutional right not to be interrogated. It’s a fundamental guarantee that protects us all,” Ferguson said. “This seems to be a great example of why we made that choice.”