MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man charged in the murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph is facing trial Monday, Sept. 23.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. are both charged with first-degree murder, among other felonies, in the death of Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr.
Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy said Smith is cooperating with the prosecution but would not comment. He also confirmed Johnson is only one on trial and expects the trial to be done by Sept. 26. Johnson is pleading not guilty.
ABC24 reporters also saw Hernandez Govan, who prosecutors say ordered the hit on Young Dolph, walk into the courtroom shortly before 10 a.m. The defense said he anticipates that Govan will testify as well.
The court broke for recess around 11:30 a.m. and will return at 1:30 p.m.
Live stream below
In pretrial discussion, the prosecution asked the judge, Jennifer Johnson Mitchell, to not allow media to film the faces of family members and informed that the two first witnesses will be family members.
Opening statements
Opening statements began shortly after 10 a.m. with Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman showing the jury video of the storefront of Makeda's Cookies on Airways Boulevard on the night of Young Dolph’s death.
Hagerman then talked about Dolph’s rapping career, in which Dolph addressed violence through his rapping.
He said Dolph was not interested in joining others, but had the ambition to make it on his own. Dolph created a record label, called Paper Route EMPIRE (PRE), to assist other artists.
Hagerman said another music label, Collective Music Group (CMG), wanted Dolph under them, but Dolph rejected.
Hagerman said Dolph had diss tracks, a rap for insulting, against CMG, which made threats of violence against Dolph.
On the night of Dolph’s murder, he was with his brother, Marcus Thornton, and friend, according to Hagerman.
The video showed a car that the prosecution said was stolen. The deputy attorney said Cornelius Smith and Justin Johnson, who was the driver, both ran out of the vehicle and shot at Dolph. Video showed the two men seemingly firing shots at Dolph.
Prosecution said both were not professional hitmen. Prosecution said Marcus returned fire, hitting Smith.
Prosecution said Smith and Johnson do not know each other well, but knew each other as CMG tried to recruit Johnson, who was another young rapper.
Hagerman said someone from CMG placed a $100,000 hit on Dolph and Johnson would receive money and rap fame for doing the job, splitting the reward with Smith.
The prosecutor said images showed Johnson at a store earlier before the shooting wearing similar clothing.
“They’re both guilty of murder," Hagerman said. "They’re both guilty on conspiracy to commit murder.”
“You’ll also hear it from Cornelius Smith’s mouth,” Hagerman said, indicating Smith will testify against Johnson in the trial.
Johnson's attorney, Luke Evans, then gave his opening statement.
Evans said Govan, who prosecutors say ordered the hit on Young Dolph, liked to exploit young rappers, which included Johnson. He said Govan wanted to get a "30-60 percent piece" of Johnson and had previously missed the opportunity on another rapper. They got together, but had different interests, and Johnson decided to split ways with Govan and not share his money going forward, leading to Govan seeking revenge, according to Evans.
Evans said the jury will hear conflicting past statements provided by Smith because he is trying save himself, adding that Smith wrote letters to his family, telling them he didn’t kill Dolph but will say whatever he has to say to get home.
Addressing the the prosecutor's reference to photos of Johnson, Evans said similar clothing doesn’t equal the same. Evans also said evidence will show Justin Johnson’ fingerprints were not on the car, but Smith and others' fingerprints were.
“He shouldn’t be the one to take the fall for it,” Evans said.
Witness testimonies start
After opening statements, the prosecution called Erica Thornton, Dolph’s sister, to the stand, who said she had a close relationship with Dolph and had identified his body.
Prosecution then called on Blue Hopkins, who was Dolph’s friend and served as his security.
He said he was familiar with the rivalry between Dolph and CMG. He said he knew Dolph turned down artists at CMG and insulted a man who went by Big Jook and others at CMG, which translated into violence. He specifically recounted two incidents, one of which left Dolph shot in California.
The court broke for recess around 11:30 a.m. and returned around 1:30 p.m.
Cornelius Smith testifies against Justin Johnson
Next, the prosecution called Cornelius Smith to the stand.
Smith admitted to consuming drugs and having past drug charges. His son died
Smith said he received no promises from the prosecution and knows he will go to prison.
He said he was arrested on his daughter’s birthday in regard to this case and he lied to authorities after he was arrested, but soon came to his senses and told the truth after receiving a letter from Johnson.
He said he met Johnson while being "around," and they both knew Govan.
Smith said both he and Justin agreed to kill Dolph in exchange for the reward.
On the day of Dolph's murder, Smith said Johnson picked him up in a car.
The prosecution played video of the shooting of Dolph, and Smith identified himself and Johnson as the shooters. Smith said he did not know someone had shot back at them until they returned to the car to drive off, and he noticed he had been shot in the shoulder.
Smith said they traded a car with another car and accidentally left his phone in the car, forcing them to use Johnson's phone for communication. They told Big Jook and Govan that they had killed Dolph, according to Smith.
They left the first car near Govan's home, Smith said.
In the process, Smith said Johnson had called a cousin of his.
The prosecution then played video of two men walking into into an apartment with a woman. Smith identified the men as himself and Johnson and the woman as Johnson's cousin. Smith said they cleaned themselves up.
Smith said he used Johnson's phone to text his girlfriend to pick him up at the apartment.
He then said he met with Govan at a car wash to get his phone from Govan.
He said he never knew Dolph.
Smith said he was later trying to get his money and had been communicating with Johnson, who later turned out to be someone named Jermarcus Johnson.
Smith said he received some money over time totaling $800 and a letter from Johnson, but never the full amount of his part of the promised reward for the hit.
Background: What you need to know
The shooting death of Memphis rapper Young Dolph sent shockwaves throughout the Bluff City and nationwide nearly three years ago.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. are both charged with first-degree murder, among other felonies, in Dolph's death.
The two were originally set to head to trial June 3, 2024, but in May, the D.A.’s office said the defense counsel asked for more time for everyone’s experts to review information, and prosecutors agreed.
The trial was reset previously from March 11 to June 3, 2024. Judge Jennifer J. Mitchell took over the case after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Judge Lee Coffee to recuse himself from the Young Dolph case.
Hernandez Govan, who prosecutors say ordered the hit on Young Dolph, is also set to stand trial Monday, Sept. 23, in Judge Jennifer Mitchell's courtroom.
This all comes after a Shelby County Judge has granted a motion for a change of venue for the trial in February. That meant an outside jury is being brought in to Shelby County to hear the case, which received heavy media attention here.
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman said the change of venue would not pose an obstacle for prosecutors.
Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was fatally shot at Makeda's Cookies on Airways Boulevard on Nov. 17, 2021. Police said at the time two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, where Young Dolph was making a purchase. Police released photos taken from surveillance video that captured the shooting, which they said led to the arrests.
Under Tennessee law, if the suspects are found guilty of first-degree murder at trial, they could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Another suspect, Jermarcus Johnson, pled guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact in October 2023, and he faces six to 12 years in jail. If convicted, the suspects could face life in prison without parole, which, according to attorney Leslie Ballin, is now 51 years in the state of Tennessee.