Warrant issued in rapper’s slaying
23-year-old sought in killing of Young Dolph in Memphis in late 2021
A first-degree murder warrant has been issued to Justin Johnson, 23, in the shooting death of Adolph Thornton Jr., the high-profile Memphis rapper known as Young Dolph, in Memphis on Nov. 17.
While the warrant has been issued by the Memphis Police Department, a reward of up to $15,000 is also being offered jointly by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Memphis Police Department, Crime Stoppers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to a news release issued Wednesday.
Thornton was shot to death while at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Boulevard, a spot the 36-year-old star frequented in his trips home to Memphis.
Johnson also has an outstanding warrant for violation of federal supervised release out of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, according to the news release. The original charge was for a weapons offense.
Both cases were adopted for a fugitive investigation by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force. Since the issuance of the murder warrant, U.S. Marshals and MPD have been searching for Johnson, according to the news release.
Johnson is a Black male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall with a weight of about 190 pounds and the name “Jaiya” tattooed on his right arm, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. His birth date is April 10, 1998.
Anyone with information on Johnson is encouraged to call the U.S. Marshals at 901-275-4562, 901-6011575 or 731-571-0280. Anonymous tips may also be submitted via the U.S. Marshals Tip App.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@com mercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.