Memphis police arrest fourth man wanted in Young Dolph killing
Memphis police said Friday that a fourth man wanted in connection to Young Dolph’s shooting last year surrendered to law enforcement, an announcement made one day after the one-year anniversary of the rapper’s death.
Earlier Friday, a search was underway for 25-year-old Jermarcus Johnson by police. He was wanted on a charge of conspiracy to commit firstdegree murder. Prosecutors said Johnson helped one of the other men charged hide and escape after the shooting and facilitated payments for the slaying.
Johnson was wanted “only for the conspiracy charge at this time, but it is subject to change,” Memphis Police Department Public Information Officer Christopher Williams said in an email statement earlier Friday.
Later that day, the police department’s Facebook post was updated with news of Johnson’s arrest. Court records indicate that a grand jury indicted Johnson on Nov. 10 and that he’s accused of taking part in a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder starting on June 1.
A search through criminal court records did not return any results for Johnson.
A third man, 43-year-old Hernandez Govan, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy, with a June 1 start date of the alleged conspiracy. The indictment also named Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith, who was arrested in January and December, and charged them with conspiracy — a charge they previously did not face.
Justin Johnson and Smith are both being held on first-degree murder charges.
Johnson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Indiana. His arrest, and that of Smith, was announced by top law enforcement officials in Shelby County.
The indictment offers a glimpse of who prosecutors believe played what role in Dolph’s death.
According to the charging document, the four men conspired between June 1, 2021, and March 1, 2022, to kill Dolph. Justin Johnson, also known as Straight Drop, and Smith are listed as the people who shot Dolph at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Boulevard on Nov. 17, 2021.
Prosecutors say Govan solicited the pair to kill Dolph, but the indictment doesn’t list a motive or how the solicitation took place.
Jemarcus Johnson, who was booked into the Shelby County Jail on Friday, is accused of helping Justin Johnson hide and escape after Dolph’s death. He is also charged with helping Justin Johnson and Smith communicate after Dolph’s death and facilitating the payments to Smith for the shooting.
Assistant District Attorney Paul Hagerman on Thursday would not say how many people are being investigated, but the office did not publicly release the most recent indictment on Monday. The full indictment was released Friday, after Jermarcus Johnson’s arrest.
Young Dolph, whose birth name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was shot and killed inside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Boulevard Nov. 17, 2021. He was shot numerous times according to an autopsy report. He was 36-years-old.
Prosecutors and investigators have not revealed a motive for the shooting. Neither police nor prosecutors have said out the four men charged are connected to each other or the musician.
The shop where Dolph died closed for nearly a year before reopening in September. And a planned memorial to the rapper was cancelled after someone splashed white paint on it before completion.
Lucas Finton can be reached at Lucas.finton@commercialappeal.com.