MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The gunmen wanted for the murder of beloved Memphis rapper Young Dolph are now in custody, law enforcement sources confirmed to FOX 13 Memphis, WSB-TV’s sister station.
Three independent sources said the second suspected gunman, Cornelius Smith, was also arrested and booked into Shelby County Jail, charged with first-degree murder for a crime that occurred on Nov. 17, the day Young Dolph was killed.
Johnson’s arrest comes less than a week after the marshals identified him as one of the people responsible for the death of Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr.
A $15,000 reward for information leading to Johnson’s arrest was announced by the U.S. Marshals Service, who believe that Johnson was one of two people who opened fire on the famous rapper on Nov. 17, 2021, when he was inside of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Boulevard.
Johnson faces charges of first-degree murder and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000.
Smith is also charged with first-degree murder. The 33-year-old is also charged with attempted first-degree murder, unlawfully carrying or possessing a weapon, employment of a firearm with intent to commit a felony, and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000.
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Prior to his alleged involvement in the murder of Young Dolph, Johnson, who reportedly raps under the stage name Straight Drop, was arrested for a triple shooting at Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes bowling alley on White Station Road in 2017.
But, Johnson’s five-year sentence for that shooting ended after just months when a judge OK’d his release.
“It’s called the Department of Corrections not the Department of Punishment,” said Judge Chris Craft of Shelby County Criminal Court, who approved the motion to suspend Johnson’s five-year prison sentence after he served a little more than five months.
Following Dolph’s killing, Atlanta artists took to social media to share their condolences at the loss of their friend and peer.
“This One Hurt,” rapper Quavo from Migos said.
Gucci Mane said, “this broke my heart.”
The city of Memphis renamed a street for Dolph in the same area where he grew up and also was gunned down.
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