Trial is set for the Young Dolph murder conspiracy case. What to know

After a series of delays, a trial date has been set for the two men accused of fatally shooting Memphis rapper Young Dolph in 2021.

The trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 23 and comes amid a continuance requested by the defense — and unopposed by prosecutors — that would allow them to fully prepare experts to testify.

“As we all know, this case was set for trial today,” Shelby County Penal Court Judge Jennifer Mitchell said in court Monday. “I was extremely upset when the lawyers came to me asking for a motion to continue this case. I was very anxious to finish this case with the start of this week, but they both expressed to the court their desire to get experts. . So I allowed it to continue.

The trial was previously set for March, then pushed back to start on Monday. The case was presided over by two different judges, one who recused himself after an appeals court ruled that it appeared the judge could be considered biased.

Previous:Shelby County judge won’t recuse himself over Young Dolph

In addition to setting the new trial date for the two men, Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith, Mitchell also set an Aug. 9 date for oral arguments on expert witnesses. Paul Hagerman, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case, said he would bring in two experts. Luke Evans, the defense attorney representing Johnson, said he would have his own expert.

Who are the other suspects who shot Young Dolph?

Four men in total have been charged in connection with the shooting that killed young Dolph, born Adolph Thornton Jr. Johnson and Smith have been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder, attempted murder first degree employing a firearm during a felony, a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and theft of property $10,000 or more.

Hernandez Govan, the man prosecutors say orchestrated Young Dolph’s murder, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Govan was the third man to be arrested and accused during the investigation.

A fourth man, Jermarcus Johnson, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Jermarcus Johnson was the fourth man arrested in the case and has since pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact. He faces six to 12 years on all charges.

According to prosecutors, Jermarcus Johnson helped one of the other men charged in connection with the murder, his half-brother Justin Johnson, hide and escape after the shooting and facilitated payments for Young Dolph’s murder. They also said his role was “much smaller” than that of the other three men charged in the conspiracy.

Both Jermarcus Johnson and Govan were in court Monday, but the cases were reset to a later date. Jermarcus Johnson has not yet been sentenced for his guilty plea, and prosecutors said he could be called as a witness at trial.

What we know about the plot to kill young Dolph

Not much has been revealed, including a motive, about the conspiracy to kill young Dolph.

Young Dolph was killed on November 17, 2021, while inside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Blvd. Authorities said Justin Johnson and Smith got out of a car and opened fire inside the store, killing the Memphis rapper.

According to the indictment, the conspiracy began months before the shooting in June 2021. No motive was listed in the indictment, but it alleged that Govan “solicited both Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith to kill Adolph Thornton Jr.”.

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The indictment also alleged that Jermarcus Johnson was the one who “facilitated the payments to Cornelius Smith for the murder of Adolph Thornton Jr.”

According to a copy of Young Dolph’s autopsy obtained by The Commercial Appeal through a public records request, the rapper was shot multiple times. The report said bullet wounds were found in his back, arms, neck and chin.

Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies planned to keep its doors closed at the Airways location after the shooting, but eventually reopened the location.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter at The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected] or (901)208-3922 and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LucasFinton.