Four Years Later, Jury Acquits Organizer of Young Dolph Murder

Photo Credit: Young Dolph by Slyguy1255 / CC by 4.0

A jury found a man not guilty of organizing the murder of rapper Young Dolph in Memphis nearly four years ago.

A Memphis jury found 45-year-old Hernandez Govan not guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder after deliberating for around three hours on Thursday. Govan was accused of directing the two people who shot and killed rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in 2021.

But the jury was not convinced, despite a man’s testimony that Govan hired him to “do the hits” and was going to receive $10,000 to do so. Govan’s attorney questioned the quality of the police investigation and the validity of cellphone communications between Govan and the men who shot Young Dolph. Therefore, nothing directly incriminated Govan nor tied him to the murder.

Testifying against Govan was Cornelius Smith Jr., who previously admitted to being one of the two shooters responsible for Young Dolph’s murder. Smith was also the main witness previously against Justin Johnson, who was convicted in 2024 as the second shooter.

Adolph Thornton Jr., better known as Young Dolph, was a rapper, independent label owner, and producer who grew up in Memphis. He was admired for his charity work and was in his hometown to hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to families when he was attacked at Makeda’s Homemade Cookies.

According to authorities, two men exited a white Mercedes-Benz and began shooting at the 36-year-old rapper. He was shot about 20 times and died from his wounds, per a medical examiner’s report.

The killing was portrayed by prosecutors as an effort by Anthony “Big Jook” Mims to get revenge on Young Dolph for his diss tracks. According to Smith’s testimony, Big Jook put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph and smaller bounties on all artists associated with Young Dolph’s record label, Paper Route Empire.

Big Jook was shot and killed outside a restaurant in January 2024, but no arrests have yet been made in connection to his death. He was also never charged in Young Dolph’s murder.

Govan’s attorney, Manny Arora, called Smith a “pathological liar” who would say anything in an effort to get a lighter sentence. “None of you would buy a pack of gum based on the word of Cornelius Smith,” Arora told the jury.

Arora also questioned why Big Jook was not investigated more thoroughly and doubted the legitimacy of some of the evidence used at trial.