{"id":229,"date":"2026-09-27T03:12:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T03:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/?p=229"},"modified":"2026-09-27T03:12:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T03:12:43","slug":"rapper-young-dolph-shot-and-killed-in-memphis-2021-case-finally-reaches-its-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"Rapper Young Dolph Shot and Killed in Memphis \u2014 2021 Case Finally Reaches Its End"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-25-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-25-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-25-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-25-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-25-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-25.png 1672w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rapper Young Dolph was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 17, 2021, in a killing that shocked the music world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was 36 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WATCH THE VIDEO<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F2515392985607241%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=266&#038;t=0\" width=\"266\" height=\"476\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shooting happened at Makeda\u2019s Homemade Butter Cookies in South Memphis while Dolph was visiting his hometown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surveillance footage from the incident showed two men arriving in a white Mercedes-Benz before opening fire at the rapper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case later resulted in several arrests and a lengthy series of court proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justin Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder in September 2024 and sentenced to life in prison. He was also convicted on additional charges connected to the killing. His conviction was later upheld on appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another defendant, Hernandez Govan, was accused by prosecutors of helping organize the killing. However, a Memphis jury found Govan not guilty of the murder and conspiracy charges in August 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final defendant in the case, Cornelius Smith Jr., was originally charged with first-degree murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith had previously testified against Johnson and acknowledged his involvement in the shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On May 15, 2026, Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, with no possibility of early release or parole according to the Shelby County District Attorney&#8217;s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plea resolved the final outstanding criminal case stemming from Young Dolph&#8217;s killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rapper&#8217;s death occurred while he was in Memphis for charitable activities, including a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young Dolph was known not only for his music but also for his independent record label and philanthropic work in Memphis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the shooting happened nearly five years ago, videos and news footage from the case continue to circulate across social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to remember that many viral posts about the case are reposts of a 2021 incident rather than a new shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The criminal proceedings have now reached their latest conclusion, with one defendant serving a life sentence, another acquitted, and the final defendant sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case remains one of the most widely followed rapper murder cases in Memphis in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sources: Shelby County District Attorney&#8217;s Office, Associated Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rapper Young Dolph was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 17, 2021, in a killing that shocked the music world. Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americaunfolded.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}