On the first day of the murder trial for Young Dolph in Memphis, Cornelius Smith, a principal suspect in the case, confessed to shooting the renowned rapper, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr. Smith, along with co-defendant Justin Johnson, had previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. The alleged orchestrator of the crime, Hernandez Govan, also denied involvement and pleaded not guilty. Another individual charged, Jermarcus Johnson, Justin’s half-brother, pleaded guilty in June to three counts of being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping Justin evade capture following the crime.
During the trial, Smith revealed to the court that he and Johnson were promised $40,000 each for their involvement, while Govan was to receive $20,000. Prosecutors claimed that Big Jook, the brother of Yo Gotti who was later shot and killed in January 2024, had placed a $100,000 bounty on Thornton’s life.
Smith recounted how Johnson picked him up and they tracked Thornton after spotting his camouflage-wrapped Corvette. When Thornton arrived at Makeda’s Cookies, where the shooting occurred, Smith admitted he could not recall how many times he fired at him. He noted that Thornton’s brother, Marcus Thornton, shot him in the arm and leg during the chaos, while Johnson was grazed by a bullet.
After the incident, Smith explained that they abandoned a white Mercedes at a residence in Orange Mound and then drove to a South Memphis apartment, where they tended to their injuries and changed clothes. He later returned to the Mercedes to clean it.
Regarding payment, Smith stated he received $800 prior to his arrest. The Shelby County District Attorney’s office and representatives for Smith and Johnson did not respond immediately for comments.
Young Dolph was originally from Chicago but moved to Memphis as a child. He gained recognition in 2008 with his debut mixtape, Paper Route Campaign, and achieved fame with his feature on O.T. Genasis’s hit song “Cut It.” His first studio album, King of Memphis, was released in 2016. The 36-year-old rapper was well-known in his community and had a significant influence on local artists through his independent label, Paper Route Empire.
This story is ongoing.