MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Trial continues for the man charged in the murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. are both charged with first-degree murder, among other felonies, in the death of Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr.
Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy said Johnson is the only one currently on trial and expects the trial to be done by Sept. 26. Johnson is pleading not guilty. Smith testified against him on the first day of the trial.
Johnson's attorney, Luke Evans, said he anticipates Hernandez Govan, who prosecutors say ordered the hit on Young Dolph, will testify as well.
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Case officer, who worked Young Dolph's death case, takes the stand
The jury entered the courtroom just before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, and Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman called upon Terrance Dabney, a case officer who worked the Young Dolph death case.
Dabney worked with the Memphis Police Department for 26 years and is now retired.
Dabney said the scene at Makeda's Cookies on Airways Boulevard on Nov. 17, 2021, was like no other scene and brought many bystanders.
“There was a lot of people down there,” Dabney said.
Dabney said he interacted or delegated other officers to talk with witnesses, including Marcus Thornton, the brother of Dolph, as they worked to gather details about what happened.
The prosecution presented scene photos of the cookie shop to Dabney, who described them.
When he had arrived at the scene, Dabney said Dolph was already dead.
Hagerman then showed photos of the crime scene to the jury on the courtroom's screen monitor.
Dabney proceeded to describe the calibers of the shell casings found on the scene, including a 40 caliber from a handgun and 7.62 caliber from an assault rifle.
Looking at another photo, Dabney also described the clothing of the two suspects on the scene, one with an assault rifle and one with what looked like a handgun.
He also described their white Mercedes Benz vehicle, which appeared to have damage on the right side. Dabney said they used these details to find the suspect as their faces were not viewable from cameras.
Dabney confirmed that investigators can connect bullets to weapons if they are able to find the guns. However, Dabney said they were never able to find the weapons that matched those casings found on the scene.
Hagerman then changed course, and showed video of the Haven Court Apartments, where Johnson's cousin lived, on the same day of Dolph's murder. The video showed his cousin approaching a white Ford Expedition, out of which two men exited, who were the suspects.
Video then showed one of the suspects walk out to a Dodge Charger that had just arrived at the apartments. Dabney described the suspect taking a yellow hoodie and two white bags from the Charger, going back to the apartment and later stepping into the white Expedition, wearing the yellow hoodie and driving away. The other suspect left in a Chevy Trax. Dabney said investigators were interested in talking to all three people.
Dabney next examined photos of a scene three days after the homicide: a white Mercedes parked near an abandoned house in Orange Mound. Hernandez Govan, who prosecutors say ordered the hit on Young Dolph, lived on the other side of the street. The Mercedes had an Illinois tag.
Hagerman showed the photos of abandoned house scene to the jury, who could see the white Mercedes parked beneath trees near the vacant house. The car had damage on the right side of the car, which helped investigators connect the car to the murder scene.
Dabney said the car had been taken in a carjacking prior to the day of the murder, but Justin Johnson was not a suspect in the carjacking, according Hagerman. Dabney agreed.
Dabney said investigators were able to lift prints from the Mercedes, belonging to Cornelius Smith, Treon Ingram and Kisten Gardner, who all became people of interest. Dabney confirmed they were not able to find blood or DNA from inside the car, becoming aware that the car may had been cleaned.
The retired case officer said police found one of the people with prints on the Mercedes, which led them to a Valero gas station, where they obtained video of the white Mercedes. The video, presented to the courtroom, showed the two people — excluding Smith — who had prints on the white Mercedes at the gas station, where a car trade with an Infiniti and the Mercedes appeared to occur, Dabney described.
After a 15-minute break, the prosecution proceeded to show videos from the night before Dolph’s murder of a white Ford Expedition at a parking garage and Concourse Apartments, where Justin Johnson lived on the eighth floor, according to Hagerman. Dabney agreed.
Video from just before 3 a.m. on the day of Dolph's murder showed a man, wearing similar clothing to the suspect with a handgun at Makeda's Cookies, going into an elevator and leaving the building at 2:41 a.m. Dabney said the man was Johnson.
Videos throughout that morning showed Johnson with who Dabney said was his daughter on an elevator at the apartment, along with the white Mercedes Benz arriving at the parking garage.
Dabney confirmed the distance from the apartment to Makeda's Cookies is about a 10-minute drive.
The prosecution changed course to talk about Cornelius Smith, showing Dabney photos of Cornelius Smith. Dabney said police were able to arrest Smith and recover his phone.
Dabney then described finding Justin Johnson in Indianapolis during the investigation after failing to locate him in Memphis. Dabney said they found Johnson's phone with his brother Jermarcus Johnson.
Hagerman next showed videos several hours after the Dolph's murder, showing a man in a yellow hoodie, which Dabney identified as Justin Johnson at the Concourse Apartments, at one point with a bag and suitcase.
After Johnson's arrest, Dabney said investigators were able to recover images Johnson had posted social media.
Dabney confirmed that the murder weapons used in Dolph's murder were never found and Big Jook, who was an interest along with Hernandez Govan, is currently dead. Hagerman ended his questioning and the court went into recess.
Attorney Luke Evans cross examines case officer
The trial resumed just before 2 p.m., and Luke Evans began questioning Dabney in cross examination.
Evans asked about the handgun the prosecutor pointed out in photos of the crime scene that the suspect held.
Dabney agreed that just by looking at the handgun, it could have been consistent with any 40 caliber weapon. Dabney also reiterated that police never recovered the murder weapon.
Dabney confirmed they also found several bullet and bullet fragments and never tested them to be 40 caliber weapons.
Dabney said he wasn't sure if police ever retrieved video from Govan's house facing the property where officers found the white Mercedes. He also did not know if anyone asked Govan if he had cameras facing that direction.
Evans switched the conversation to the white Mercedes. Dabney said he was not sure if investigators found bullet holes on the white Mercedes.
The attorney then showed a photo of the car and Dabney agreed that the passenger window seemed to be missing. Dabney did not recall seeing broken glass inside the car.
Evans also had Dabney confirm that Johnson's finger prints were not on the car and there was no DNA evidence or blood found in the car. The retired officer obliged.
Evans asked about the Valero gas station scene and Dabney agreed somethings could not be seen because another car was blocking the Mercedes and Infiniti at some point.
Turning to the Concourse Apartments scene, Dabney agreed he could not see who was driving the white Mercedes or who entered or left the Mercedes, including the person in a black hoodie and gray sweatpants.
However, Dabney said the person, who he believed was Johnson, walked from the same area where the Mercedes was parked. Dabney then agreed the cameras did not show who was in the Mercedes.
Dabney also agreed that video description itself never marked the person at the Concourse Apartments wearing the same underwear as the person at Makeda's Cookies during the murder and that he is only making the connection from what he sees in the video, something he noted during the prosecutor's questioning.
Dabney agreed that distance can vary between Makeda's Cookies and the Concourse Apartments based on traffic and could even be 20 minutes.
Dabney said the distance from Makeda's Cookies and the house of Cornelius Smith's dad is about a five minute drive. He also gave distance estimates for other key locations in the case.
In redirect, Hagerman clarified that there were two case officers working the murder case. Dabney had been the first one before the case was turned over to another officer. Dabney agreed.
Kisten Gardner testifies
The prosecution then called Kisten Gardner, one of the men with fingerprints on the white Mercedes Benz, to the stand. Gardner also said he was a cousin of Dolph's family.
Gardner said he knew Ingram and was with him at the Valero gas station. He said he did not know that the white Mercedes had been stolen.
He testified that Johnson, known as "Straight Drop," had been in the passenger side of the Infiniti during the gas station scene, but entered the white Mercedes and left in it. Gardner said he did not know anything about the plan to kill Young Dolph.
In cross examination, Gardner said he has at least been interviewed twice before this trial.
Answering Evan's questions, Gardner said he knew Ingram his whole life and did not know where he got the Mercedes, but was with him at the Valero gas station when the vehicle exchange took place. Gardner said he knew Ingram had weapons in the back of the Mercedes. Gardner also claimed he did not know why Ingram was giving the Mercedes to Johnson.
Evans had a police report from when authorities interviewed with Gardner in November 2021 and said multiple of Gardner's statements conflicted with some of his current statements, including not knowing about Ingram stealing cars.
Gardner said he knew Ingram was trying to get rid of the Mercedes long before Dolph's murder.
Throughout the examination, Gardner reiterated that he did not try to get into Ingram's personal business and knew nothing about Dolph's murder.
Evans ended his cross examination and the judge asked Hagerman to call his next witness before the court abruptly went into a sidebar for about 30 minutes.
Justin Johnson's brother testifies
The state called Jermarcus Johnson to the stand next.
Johnson pled guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact in October 2023, but has yet to be sentenced. He is also the brother of Justin Johnson, sharing the same dad and different mothers. They grew up in different households.
Jermarcus said he was not part of the plan in killing Young Dolph at the front in.
After the murder, Jermarcus said Justin contacted him about giving him a rental car. Jermarcus did not have transportation at the time to get to work and had to obtain rides from others.
An hour later, Justin arrived at Jermarcus' apartment in a white Chrysler. Other people were also there in a white SUV. Jermarcus said he entered the Chrysler and Justin had two phones and gave one to him for Jermarcus to post social media content on Justin's behalf.
No questions were asked by Jermarcus about the phone. Justin also did not say he was planning to lay low or leave town, Jermarcus testified.
Justin then entered a white SUV with other people. Whenever someone called or texted the phone Justin provided, Jermarcus said he told Justin and sometimes he made three-way calls.
Jermarcus recalled connecting a call with someone named "C" for Justin. The person later turned out to be Cornelius Smith, Jermarcus agreed.
Through text messages, "C" was asking Justin to ask someone named "Unc" about retrieving money for his little girl’s birthday.
Jermarcus said Justin never told him about his whereabouts. Jermarcus confirmed he did post two photos — one of food and one of shoes — for Justin, who had probably posted social media content himself around after police approached him and took the phone.
In cross examination, Jermarcus agreed with Evans that he knew Justin was an aspiring rapper and had managed Justin's social media prior to the event described above. With no further questions from Evans or the prosecutor, Jermarcus' testimony ended.
The court then adjourned for the day. The trial will continue Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Background: What you need to know
The shooting death of Memphis rapper Young Dolph sent shockwaves throughout the Bluff City and nationwide nearly three years ago.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. are both charged with first-degree murder, among other felonies, in Dolph's death.
The two were originally set to head to trial June 3, 2024, but in May, the D.A.’s office said the defense counsel asked for more time for everyone’s experts to review information, and prosecutors agreed.
The trial was reset previously from March 11 to June 3, 2024. Judge Jennifer J. Mitchell took over the case after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Judge Lee Coffee to recuse himself from the Young Dolph case.
Hernandez Govan, who prosecutors said ordered the hit on Young Dolph, is also set to stand trial Monday, Sept. 23, in Judge Jennifer Mitchell's courtroom.
This all comes after a Shelby County Judge has granted a motion for a change of venue for the trial in February. That meant an outside jury is being brought in to Shelby County to hear the case, which received heavy media attention here.
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman said the change of venue would not pose an obstacle for prosecutors.
Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was fatally shot at Makeda's Cookies on Airways Boulevard on Nov. 17, 2021. Police said at the time two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, where Young Dolph was making a purchase. Police released photos taken from surveillance video that captured the shooting, which they said led to the arrests.
Another suspect, Jermarcus Johnson, pled guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact in October 2023, and he faces six to 12 years in jail.
If convicted, the suspects could face life in prison without parole, which, according to attorney Leslie Ballin, is now 51 years in the state of Tennessee.