Trial in daytime ambush of rapper Young Dolph 3 years ago to begin in Memphis
The trial in the slaying of rapper Young Dolph is set to begin in Memphis, Tennessee
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Young Dolph grew up riding his bike and playing basketball in a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood and later built a rap career that included ownership of an independent music label, Paper Route Empire.
He became beloved locally for his charitable works: donations to local high schools, paying rent and covering funeral costs for others, Thanksgiving turkey giveaways.
He was in Memphis to hand out turkeys to families at a church when a visit to his favorite cookie shop near his childhood home turned into an event that shocked the city and the entertainment world. Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was gunned down in a daylight ambush on Nov. 17, 2021.
Nearly three years later, a trial in the 36-year-old rapper's killing is scheduled to begin Monday. Justin Johnson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and is scheduled to face a jury from the Nashville area after a defense attorney argued that intense media coverage and social media attention would make it hard to seat a jury from Memphis.
Another man, Cornelius Smith Jr., also was charged with first-degree murder. He is not scheduled for trial on Monday, said his lawyer, Michael Scholl. Smith also has pleaded not guilty.
Young Dolph's family and friends have been patiently awaiting a trial and are praying for justice for the father of two children, said Carlisa Brown, his older sister.
“We want everyone involved to get what they deserve,” she said in a phone interview. “It was a very senseless murder.”
On the day the rapper was shot, two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies before fleeing,
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