At the opening On the day of Young Dolph's murder trial in Memphis on Monday, Cornelius Smith, a prime suspect, admitted to shooting the famous rapper, whose legal name is Adolph Thornton Jr. Commercial Call Reports.
In February 2022, Smith and co-defendant Justin Johnson pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. The alleged mastermind of the killing, Hernandez-Govan, also pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and denied arranging the killing. The fourth man charged in the case was Johnson’s half-brother, Jemarcus Johnson, who pleaded guilty in June to three counts of accessory after the fact. Prosecutors alleged that Jemarcus accepted a car and cellphone from Justin after the killing to help him escape Memphis amid a manhunt.
Smith told the court on Monday that he and Justin were promised $40,000 each, while Jovon was set to receive $20,000. Shelby County prosecutors alleged that Big Jock, the older brother of Leo Gotti who was shot dead in Memphis on Jan. 13, 2024, set a $100,000 fine on Thornton, the newspaper reported.
Smith stated that Johnson picked him up and that they followed Thornton after noticing his camouflaged Corvette. When Thornton arrived at the parking lot outside Makeda's Cookies near Memphis International Airport where he was killed, Smith claimed that he “couldn't tell you how many times I shot Thornton.”
Smith told the court that Young Dolph’s brother, Marcus Thornton, shot him in the arm and leg, while Johnson was shot in the back. Smith said they drove a white Mercedes to a house in Orange Mound and left it in the driveway, then drove another car to a South Memphis apartment where they cleaned their wounds and changed their clothes. He said he later returned to the Mercedes to clean the car.
according to Commercial CallWhen Smith was asked how much he received, he said he received $800 before he was arrested.
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office and representatives for Smith & Johnson did not immediately respond. Rolling StoneComment requests.
Thornton was born in Chicago and moved to Memphis with his parents when he was a young child. He released his first mixtape, Paper Road CampaignIn 2008, the year he turned 23, he had his first Top 40 hit with the platinum-selling single “Cut It” from OT Genasis. He later released his debut album in 2016, King of Memphis.
The rapper, who was killed at the age of 36, was a beloved figure in his hometown community and mentored other local artists through his independent label, Paper Route Empire, also known as PRE.
This is an evolving story…
