Three men accused of plotting and executing the murder of beloved Memphis rapper Young Dolph will stand trial beginning Monday.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. are accused of fatally shooting Dolph, whose legal name was Adolph Thornton Jr. Meanwhile, Hernandez Govan has been charged with hiring them. All three have pleaded not guilty.
A fourth man, Johnson’s half-brother Jermarcus Johnson, pleaded guilty last year to helping his half-brother avoid police after the shooting. Prosecutors have not said if Jermarcus Johnson will testify against the other men but he has not yet been sentenced.
Jermarcus Johnson, left, speaks with Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee as he pleads guilty to charges in the killing of rapper Young Dolph on Friday, June 9, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Coffee approved a plea deal with prosecutors, allowing him to avoid trial. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
A jury was seated last week. The jury was pulled from outside Memphis — mainly from Nashville — after defense attorneys argued it would be impossible for the men to receive a fair trial from Memphis residents because Dolph was so beloved in the city.
Dolph, 36 at the time, was buying sweets at Makeda’s Homemade Cookies on Nov. 17, 2021, when two men stepped out of a stolen Mercedes and opened fire into the building, killing him.
Investigators identified the two men as Smith and Justin Johnson. Smith was arrested on a warrant for stealing the Mercedes, while Johnson evaded capture for nearly two months before cops caught up with him in January 2022 in Indiana. They were both charged with first-degree murder.
A woman enters Makeda’s Homemade Cookies in Memphis. Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
About one year after the killing, Govan was arrested and accused of organizing it. However, prosecutors have not publicly revealed what information led them to Govan, or how they will build the case against all three men. Any motive for the killing remained unclear ahead of trial.
“We want everyone involved to get what they deserve,” Dolph’s older sister, Carlisa Brown, told The Associated Press. “It was a very senseless murder.”
Though Dolph was born in Chicago, his family moved to Memphis when he was a child, and he was proud to represent the city. His debut album was named “King of Memphis,” and after the shooting, he was honored with a street name and murals throughout the city.