Justin Johnson, one of the suspects in the November 2021 murder of Young Dolph (Adolph Thorton Jr.), was found guilty on first-degree murder as well as charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, per FOX13.
A jury reached the verdict during a court hearing in Memphis on Thursday (Sept. 26) after about four hours of deliberation.
Following the fourth day’s closing arguments, Johnson was sentenced to life in prison on the first-degree murder charge by Judge Jennifer Mitchell and he will learn his fate when it comes to the additional charges during a November court date. Johnson never took the defense stand.
“Every murder’s a tragedy, and we take them all seriously,” said Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy. “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.”
Johnson and fellow alleged gunman, Cornelius Smith, ambushed Young Dolph on Nov. 17, 2021, at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies in his hometown. They allegedly fired 22 shots while striking and killing the Paper Route Empire CEO.
Smith took the stand on Monday (Sept. 23) after pleading guilty to murder charges. He implicated himself along with Justin Johnson as well as Hernandez “Quett” Govan and Yo Gotti‘s brother Anthony “Big Jook” Mims in Dolph’s murder.
Smith claimed that Big Jook put a $100,000 bounty on Dolph and explained that he and Johnson were each supposed to collect $40,000 after killing the Memphis rapper.
However, Smith testified that he only ended up receiving $800, but Big Jook did step in to pay $50,000 in lawyer fees once he was apprehended. Although, Jook was murdered while leaving a funeral in January.
The same day Dolph was killed also happened to be Smith’s daughter’s birthday. Smith said he had no money and wanted to make sure she had a “beautiful birthday” if he got his hands on the cash.
“Man, I was trying to make it right for her,” he told the court on Monday. “I ain’t have no money, I’m trying to get some money that day. So I’m trying to make sure my baby girl have a beautiful birthday.”
Dolph released seven studio albums while he was alive and a posthumous LP, Paper Route Frank, arrived in 2022. He also has four Billboard Hot 100 hits to his name. The Memphis trailblazer is survived by his fiancée Mia Jaye and their two children. Young Dolph was 36 years old.
