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A Shelby County jury convicted Justin Johnson of first-degree murder in the November 2021 killing of Memphis rapper Adolph Thornton Jr., known as Young Dolph. The judge sentenced him to life in prison for the murder, and Associated Press reported that he also received 35 years for the conspiracy and firearm convictions. A state appeals court upheld his convictions in March 2026. Johnson is the only defendant in the case who went to trial and was convicted; the other two charged men reached different outcomes, covered below.
What the jury decided and what the sentence covers
The jury returned guilty verdicts on three counts on September 26, 2024, after nearly four hours of deliberation, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. The office described the trial as four days long.
- First-degree murder in the death of Adolph Thornton Jr.: sentence of life imprisonment.
- Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder: part of the additional 35 years reported by AP.
- Convicted felon in possession of a firearm: part of the additional 35 years reported by AP.
AP’s reporting on the additional sentence, dated November 1, 2024, describes 35 years for the conspiracy and firearm convictions in addition to the life term. The reporting we reviewed does not say whether those terms run concurrently or consecutively with the life sentence, so readers should not assume a specific total length beyond what the court imposed as described.
Timeline of the case
The dates below separate what happened at the shooting, the trial, the sentencing, and the later proceedings. Each entry names the source that reported it.
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| Date | Event | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| November 17, 2021 | Young Dolph is fatally shot outside a cookie shop in South Memphis. A later District Attorney update names the business as Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies. | Shelby County District Attorney’s Office |
| September 26, 2024 | Jury finds Johnson guilty on all three counts after nearly four hours of deliberation. | Shelby County District Attorney’s Office |
| November 1, 2024 | Court imposes an additional 35 years for the conspiracy and firearm convictions, on top of the life sentence for first-degree murder. | Associated Press |
| August 21, 2025 | Hernandez Govan is found not guilty of charges including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted murder. | Shelby County District Attorney’s Office |
| March 11, 2026 | State appeals court upholds Johnson’s convictions. | The Daily Memphian |
| May 15, 2026 | Cornelius Smith pleads guilty to second-degree murder and receives 20 years. The office says his cooperation, including testimony at Johnson’s trial, helped resolve the case. | Shelby County District Attorney’s Office |
The other defendants and their outcomes
Three men were charged in connection with Thornton’s killing, and each reached a separate result. Only Johnson was tried and convicted. The table keeps the three procedural paths distinct.
| Defendant | Procedural path | Outcome | Date reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Johnson | Jury trial | Convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and convicted felon in possession of a firearm; life sentence plus 35 additional years for the other convictions | Verdict September 26, 2024; sentence reported November 1, 2024 |
| Cornelius Smith | Guilty plea, co-defendant who testified at trial | Pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; sentenced to 20 years | May 15, 2026 |
| Hernandez Govan | Trial | Found not guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted murder | August 21, 2025 |
Smith’s plea and Govan’s acquittal are separate outcomes. Neither changes the verdict against Johnson, and Smith and Govan should not be described as convicted in Johnson’s case.
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The evidence and how to read the testimony
The District Attorney’s Office says the State presented multiple witnesses, including co-defendant Cornelius Smith, along with video evidence. AP reports that prosecutors also presented surveillance and cellphone evidence. Johnson’s defense disputed Smith’s credibility and challenged the evidence.
Much of the most detailed material in coverage of the trial comes from Smith’s testimony, and it should be read that way:
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- Bounty, motive, planning, and payment are described in the coverage as claims made through Smith’s testimony or in prosecutors’ arguments. They were not separately established as facts by a court finding in the reporting we reviewed.
- The number of shots: AP attributes to Smith’s testimony the claim that Young Dolph was hit 22 times. This is a figure from testimony, not a separately published medical finding.
- Courtroom language: AP quotes Smith describing the men as “looking for somebody” and saying they “didn’t know who we were going to catch.” These are quoted testimony, not established findings about what the men intended.
District Attorney General Steve Mulroy’s public statement on the case was brief: “Every murder’s a tragedy, and we take them all seriously.”
The appeal
The Daily Memphian reported on March 11, 2026, that the state appeals court upheld Johnson’s convictions. A later update from the District Attorney’s Office says the appeal was heard and denied. The reporting we reviewed does not explain the appellate court’s reasoning, so the reasons for the ruling are not available in this account. Johnson’s conviction stands under that ruling, and any further review would fall outside the coverage described here.
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Who Young Dolph was
Adolph Thornton Jr. performed as Young Dolph and was a Memphis rapper. AP identifies King of Memphis as his 2016 debut album. The trial and sentencing coverage focuses on the killing rather than his music, so the crime timeline above is the most reliable account of what happened after his death.
For readers following the case, the most important distinction is between the jury’s verdict against Johnson, the appellate ruling on that verdict, and the separate outcomes for Smith and Govan.
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