MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Trial continued for the man charged in the murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Justin Johnson was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in the death of Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr.
Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy said Johnson is the only one currently on trial and expects the trial to be done by Thursday, Sept. 26. Johnson is pleading not guilty.
Cornelius Smith, also charged with first-degree murder for killing Dolph, testified against Johnson and admitted to killing Dolph on the first day of the trial.
Johnson's attorney, Luke Evans, said Monday he anticipated Hernandez Govan, who prosecutors say ordered the hit on Young Dolph, will testify as well. However, Govan never took the stand.
On the third day of trial, Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman rested the prosecution's case and the judge denied the defense's motion to acquit. Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday, followed by a verdict from the jury.
Check below for latest updates as the trial progressed Thursday.
Defense rests
Justin Johnson's defense attorney, Luke Evans, began Thursday with resting the defense's case without calling a witness. Shelby County Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell then proceeded to instruct the jury on the charges against Johnson and reaching a verdict.
Johnson is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Prosecution closing arguments
Assistant District Attorney Irris Williams, representing the prosecution, began closing arguments just before 10:30 a.m.
Addressing the conspiracy murder charge, the prosecution first went over facts and analysis by pointing to Cornelius Smith, who said a $100,000 hit was placed on Johnson and there was an agreement to kill Dolph, adding that the plan had been in place for weeks and Johnson was an active participant in the agreement.
Addressing the first-degree murder charge, the prosecution established that Dolph's sister confirmed the identity of her brother and experts confirmed that gunshot wounds killed Dolph. They also said Raul Hopkins' testimony confirmed conflict between CMG and Dolph.
Williams went over Smith's testimony again, reiterating that he identified himself and Johnson as the shooting suspects, said they used the white Mercedes in the crime and tried to cover their tracks afterward. Williams also repeated the testimonies of Khisten Garner and Jermarcus Johnson, the brother of Justin Johnson.
Next, she overviewed the expert testimonies of the MPD investigators who worked the Dolph murder case.
Addressing the charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, Williams said Smith testified that Johnson held a handgun during the commission of the murder. Based on those facts and testimonies, Williams said the prosecution had met its burden of proof.
Defense closing arguments
Defense attorney Luke Evans began his closing argument around 10:40 a.m.
Evans said it's never justice to wrongfully convict someone and the jury had a heavy decision to make. Justin Johnson is innocent, the defense attorney said.
"He didn't kill Adolph Thornton Jr."
Evans said many people wear black hoodies, gray sweat pants, and Bass Pro hats, clothes the prosecution said Johnson was wearing at the time of the shooting.
Evans then told the jury to ask themselves why Johnson's fingerprints were not found on the white Mercedes, but the fingerprints of those who confessed to be involved in the murder were on the car. He also alluded that the jury should not trust Smith's testimony.
Evans then reiterated that there was no video showing Johnson in the white Mercedes at any point.
He then switched to Khisten Gardner's testimony, asserting that he was lying, saying he had conflicting testimonies and at one point said he was not the man in a video at the Valero gas station, then changed his mind. The defense attorney stressed Gardner's testimony could not be trusted.
Next, Evans emphasized that tower signals that investigators used to show Johnson's location during day of the murder were unreliable, because Johnson could have been anywhere in a three mile radius when Dolph was killed. The signals cannot exactly determine where a phone is located.
Addressing the conspiracy charge, Evans said Smith had testified that Johnson was not physically present during one of the initial planning meetings to kill Dolph was formed.
Evans asserted that Smith only testified against Johnson, and lied, to get a lighter sentence. Evans then said there's no proof that Johnson received money in relation to the Young Dolph murder.
Going back to Smith's testimony, Evans said Smith was only in it for himself and had been the only one in contact Hernandez Govan, who was accused of being involved in the murder.
Evans changed course to the mistaken timestamp that the prosecution accidentally placed on a video at the Concourse Apartments.
Evans then said Smith testified that Govan had a security system at his home, near where the suspects hid the white Mercedes, but police never reported confirming and looking at those cameras.
The defense attorney described Govan as an important piece to the trial and pointed out that the prosecution said he was cooperating with the state. However, prosecutors never called Govan to the stand for whatever reason they had. Evans argued that Govan's testimony would have been favorable to Johnson's innocence and that the jury did not get all the facts of the case.
Due to these arguments, Evans said the jury could not be able to reach a guilty verdict with absolute certainty.
Final closing arguments from prosecution
Hagerman gave final statements for the prosecution just before 11:30 a.m..
Hagerman said Govan was a defendant, not a witness, in this case, and had the right not to testify and incriminate himself. He stressed that the prosecution cannot call everyone and anyone they want.
"That would be insanity," Hagerman said.
The prosecutor then said video evidence and Smith's testimony proved Johnson committed the murder. He also pointed to the fact that investigators retrieved data from Johnson's phone, showing he was communicating with Ingram and shared location with him after the murder.
Addressing the defense's assertion that Smith was lying to get a deal from the state, Hagerman said Smith was talking because he was caught and wanted to make his sentence lighter.
Hagerman said video evidence seemingly depicting Smith and Johnson at the Haven Court Apartments proved Smith told the truth. Hagerman reiterated that Smith said right after the Dolph murder, Johnson FaceTimed Big Jook and data extraction showed Johnson's phone FaceTiming Big Jook's phone, despite Johnson deleting calls from his phone.
The prosecutor continued to overview other evidences in the case, including the video evidence, white Mercedes, and white Ford Expedition. He also said Johnson was guilty of the conspiracy charge due to his alleged part of preparing for the murder, knowledge of the plan and cooperating with the plan.
Hagerman finished his closing argument and Judge Mitchell informed the jury on verdict instructions just before noon. The jury then left to deliberate over the verdict at 12:06 p.m.
The court shortly came back in session without the jury around 3:20 p.m. to discuss what was the legal definition for a term agreement, a question the jury had asked during deliberation. The judge and attorneys concluded that there was no legal definition. Judge Mitchell said she would answer the jury's question in a note, then the court adjourned again.
VERDICT
Just after 4 p.m., the jury found Justin Johnson guilty on all charges, and the judge sentenced him to life in prison.
Court dates originally scheduled for Smith and Govan for Sept. 30 were reset after the verdict. Smith will appear Nov. 15, and Govan is due back for a hearing Oct. 9.
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. were 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.
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.
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.
