A Tennessee jury on Thursday found Justin Johnson guilty of the murder of rapper Young Dolph.
Johnson was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
He was immediately sentenced to life in prison on the first-degree murder charge, and will be sentenced for the other charges in November.
The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for about four hours after a four-day trial.
Young Dolph, 36, whose legal name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was fatally shot at a Memphis cookie shop on Nov. 17, 2021 when two gunmen drove up and began shooting into the store before speeding away in a white Mercedes Benz.
During the trial, Cornelius Smith confessed to being one of the shooters, and that it had been a $100,000 hit job for Anthony “Big Jook” Mims, the brother of rival Memphis rapper Yo Gotti. A third suspect, Hernandez Govan, told Smith and Johnson about the bounty Mims had put out on Young Dolph. Govan did not testify but provided investigators with information.
A fourth person, Johnson’s half-brother Jermarcus, pleaded guilty last year. He has not yet been sentenced.
Mims was shot and killed outside a Memphis mall on Jan. 13, 2024. No suspects have been arrested in that case.
Expert witnesses testified during the trial that digital forensics, phone records and location data showed Johnson’s phone was nearby when the shooting occurred and he communicated with both Smith and Mims before and after the shooting.
“Every murder’s a tragedy, and we take them all seriously,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a statement. “This one generated extra public interest because Young Dolph was a prominent and beloved member of the community. We will continue to fight hard to make sure that all of those responsible for his death are brought to justice.”
