Jury hears opening statements in trial for man accused of orchestrating Young Dolph’s death

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The trial for the man accused of orchestrating the shooting death of Memphis rapper Young Dolph began almost four years after the beloved musician was shot and killed on Airways Boulevard.

Hernandez Govan was named during the previous trial of Cornelius Smith, who testified that Govan and ‘Big Jook’ (Anthony Mims – Yo Gotti’s brother) put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph.

Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was shot and killed at Makeda’s Cookies on Nov. 17, 2021. Police said two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, where Young Dolph was making a purchase.

Govan faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

During Monday’s opening statements, Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Irris Williams began by reminding the jury of Dolph’s cultural significance to the city of Memphis, framing him as a man of the people who achieved success after struggling from humble beginnings.

“Adolph Thornton just wasn’t Adolph Thornton; he was known across the city as Young Dolph — a musician. His music, his artistry, his journey, his ambition inspired and spoke to this city in ways that a lot of artists just couldn’t do. Thornton made his own way in the music industry, and he created a record label, PRE, Paper Route Empire,” stated Williams during her opening argument.

Williams went further to say that opening a label allowed Thornton not only more independence, but the ability to create opportunities to up-and-coming artists around him, a move that made him the target of Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group (CMG – aka Cocaine Muzik Group), reiterating the idea that the shooting was a part of the feud between the two camps.

“Adolph Thornton made his way in the music industry and created opportunities for other artists, but when you create opportunities for others, some people don’t seem to like that,” Williams said.

Williams also highlighted Govan’s ties to CMG, as well as his relationship with Cornelius Smith, a codefendant in the case, who looked up to Govan and addressed him by a number of nicknames such as ‘Quet’ and ‘Big Bro’.

“Govan chose Smith and Govan chose him to do a job. Govan also chose Justin Johnson, another codefendant, to do that same job. A job that ended in the life and death of Adolph Thornton Jr.,” Williams explained. “He chose two desperate people: Smith, needing money, needing to support his family. Justin Johnson, an aspiring up-and-coming rap artist [who] wanted to be on CMG’s label — the very label that Govan had access to and was affiliated with.”

Defense gives opening statements

Attorney Manny Arora, who is representing Hernandez Govan, took the stand, arguing that the prosecution’s timeline of events gives a false impression of the events that transpired while poking holes into the credibility of Cornelius Smith, who is expected to testify on behalf of the state.

“Cornelius Smith has made at least five different statements to law enforcement over the last year, where everything changes. He’s been met with the prosecution at least five or six times to go over his testimony prior to testifying here today,” said Arora before addressing the jury directly. “So you should ask yourself the question that the judge instructed you: did somebody have a reason to lie? Did someone have an interest in the outcome?”

Arora rhetorically questions why Smith would have to make so many statements before playing surveillance footage outside of Makeda’s Cookies of the moment Dolph was gunned down. He goes further to remind the jury that Smith is facing a mandatory life sentence, and asks the jury to consider what they would do if they found themselves in the same position.

“The man you have to believe is the man who’s capable of, in broad daylight, carrying an AK-47, going into a store full of people, and just, without hesitation, opening fire, and he’s the one who’s gonna tell you Mr. Govan did this, this, and this. Nothing that he says can be validated, said Arora after playing footage of the shooting for the jury.

Arora also highlighted the unreliability of cell phone tower records, stating that just because a device is recorded at a certain location does not necessarily mean that a device was at that location, explaining that there are over 550 T-Mobile cell towers in Memphis, with many of them placed miles apart, allowing one device to be picked up on multiple towers.

Audio of one of Cornelius Smith’s statements was played for the jury. Smith can be heard saying that he drove to Govan’s house with his girlfriend to purchase ecstasy pills before hearing from Big Jook that there was a hit on everyone from PRE. After the audio was played, Arora questions why no one from CMG (including Big Jook and Yo Gotti) was questioned. He also mentions that Govan was not said to have called the hit, and further argues that he wouldn’t have been able to produce the $100,000 for the hit, as someone who lives in Orange Mound, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.

Jook himself was shot and killed near the Perignons Restaurant & Event Center, a little over two years after Young Dolph’s murder.

The aforementioned feud between CMG and PRE was addressed, along with previous attempts on Dolph’s life, with Arora arguing that their conflict was highly publicized, with Dolph having survived three attempts on his life in the years preceding his death, twice in Charlotte, and another in Los Angeles.

“Everybody in Memphis knew there was a price on their head because there was a war between PRE and CMG; they were shooting each other. Yo Gotti’s car was shot up here; the song ‘100 Shots‘ came out after one of these things. There’s a rivalry going on, and people have been shooting. The police went through this; they know this,” said Arora, as he detailed the police investigation into Dolph’s murder, dubbed “Operation: Cookie Monster”.

Arora recounted the day of the shooting, stating that Johnson called Smith, asking him to join him to find someone to kill, before coming across Dolph’s camo blue Corvette and later shooting the rapper. Govan did not acquire the car or the weapons for the hit and was not contacted by the killers for weeks following the shooting, according to Arora, who called the shooting a “spontaneous issue between two young men that morning”.

He also points out that some individuals who seemingly would have been charged in this case have yet to receive any charges. Among those individuals are those who got Smith and Johnson medical treatment after the shooting, as well as Trayvon Ingram, who is accused of stealing the white Mercedes used in the crime, but was not charged with carjacking in connection with the shooting.

Ingram has since been charged with murder and is currently in police custody, Arora said.

While DNA evidence from Smith, Johnson, Ingram, and several others connected with the case was found on the car, Govan’s was not present at any point, according to Arora, who went on to say that the evidence collected by investigators directly contradicts Smith’s statements, further poking holes into his credibility as a reliable narrator.

State calls young Dolph’s sister, Erica Thornton, as a witness

Erica Thornton, after seeing a picture of her brother, told the jury the last time she spoke with him was the day before his death. She recalls hearing of his death after getting a call from her sister. The defense gave their condolences to Ms. Thornton before she was promptly dismissed from the stand.

State calls Young Dolph’s security guard, Raul Hopkins, to the stand

Hopkins told the jury he first met Dolph around the neighborhood, stating that he had known him for around 20 years before his death, and had worked as his security for around seven years. He was given a picture of a diamond pendant in the shape of the letters “P-R-E” and confirmed to the prosection that it was a Paper Route chain that belonged to Dolph. After being asked if Dolph had issues with other labels, Hopkins acknowledged his tensions with artists from CMG. He told the prosecution, however, that he did not know what CMG stands for and that the only artist from the crew he was familiar with was Yo Gotti.

The conflict stemmed from attempts by CMG to sign Dolph to their label, to which Dolph refused, leading to tensions between the two parties, culminating in diss songs and several violent encounters since his time working security, according to Hopkins. In one instance, Hopkins recalled hearing that their tour van had been shot while the rapper was performing in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2015. Neither Hopkins nor Dolph was present in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, according to Hopkins’ testimony.

Hopkins also recalled another incident, once again in Charlotte, during which his SUV was shot up, and a third instance, during which he was shot in Los Angeles, California.

Dolph’s habit of hosting community turkey drives along with members of PRE was also highlighted by Hopkins. He went further to say that Dolph did not participate in the drive while visiting Memphis a week before Thanksgiving in 2021, claiming he had other business to attend to.

The prosecution presented video of the shooting to Hopkins, during which he confirmed that the vehicle shown (a camo Corvette) belonged to Young Dolph and stated that Dolph and his brother, Marcus, were seen on the video. He also confirmed that Dolph’s arm was hanging out of Makeda’s Cookies after the shooting took place on video.

Prosecutors then played footage from inside the establishment in which an employee is seen running to the back of the store. The front of the store beyond the counter is not visible on video.

Hopkins was then passed along to the defense, who asked him to clarify his security position, to which Hopkins replied that while there are other members of Dolph’s security detail, they all report to Hopkins. Arora also brought up other attempts on Dolph’s life before asking Hopkins if Dolph was known to carry weapons on him, since his brother was able to pull an assault rifle out of the driver’s side of his Corvette.

Hopkins responded, saying he didn’t know if Dolph usually carried weapons, but did have one on him that day.

Arora asked how long ago Dolph had moved from Memphis, to which Hopkins responded, “around four or five years.”

The defense went on to ask that, given his ongoing conflicts with other artists, if Dolph’s need for security while visiting Memphis was well known, to which Hopkins agreed.

“Have you ever heard of the phrase spin the block?” Arora asks before clarifying with Hopkins Dolph’s reason for visiting Memphis in November 2021.

“With regards to him coming here the week before Thanksgiving, he wasn’t gonna participate in a turkey drive; he was here to help out his artists?” Arora asked, to which Hopkins replied, “Yes.”

Cornelius Smith testifies

For their next witness, Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Carla Taylor called upon Cornelius Smith, who previously testified against Justin Johnson in trial back in September 2024 and admitted to helping kill Young Dolph.

Smith said he met Govan — also known as “Quett” — in the middle of 2021 through a man named “Bobby” to buy pills from the accused mastermind. He said the death of his son had made him return to the habit. Govan, who lived on Bradley Street, and Smith lived about two minutes away from each other.

One day, Govan asked Smith if he wanted to make money. Smith, who was not really working at the time, said yes. At the time, Smith said he had five kids and a girlfriend named “Angela.”

The job option involved different hits on artists, including Young Dolph — a PRE artist — who had a $100,000 bounty on his head. Govan later was set to receive $20,000 for the successful killing of Dolph, $10K from Smith and $10K from Johnson, according to Smith.

Smith said Govan gave him a gun to kill an artist named “Paper Route” — another PRE artist —  with “Bobby,” Johnson and one other person, but the attempt proved unsuccessful, partly due to the gun being jammed. “Bobby” then pulled out of the operation and Govan teamed Smith with Johnson moving forward.

Smith said Johnson was an artist. Govan one time asked Smith to participate in a music video during that summer.

About the next day, Smith said he came to Govan to buy pills. A man named “Big Jook” —  Anthony Mims —  was there as well. There, Govan told “Big Jook” that he had Smith on business to carry out hits.

Later in the year, Smith and Johnson were told to visit a turkey drive on Nov. 16, 2021 — the day before Dolph’s death — where some artists were supposed to be located. They figured out that Dolph was at a gas station nearby, but was gone before they could reach him, Smith testified.

“We knew Dolph was in the city then, and we knew that tomorrow — we were full fledged now,” Smith recalled. “Anything could shake right now. We gonna get somebody.”

The next day, the same day as his daughter’s birthday, Smith went with Johnson to Govan’s house on Bradley Street. Johnson had picked Govan up in a white Mercedes-Benz.

Heading toward the Westwood area and wearing masks, they later spotted Dolph driving in the area of Lamar Avenue and Airways Boulevard. They followed Dolph to the Makeda’s Cookies store on Airways, where Smith said they fatally shot Dolph, identifying Johnson and himself in a surveillance video that captured the shooting.

During the process, Smith said he had been shot in the arm and leg when someone with Dolph returned fire. Johnson had been scraped in the back.

“We didn’t know we were going to get shot…that wasn’t part of the plan,” Smith said.

Smith and Johnson went to the property across from Govan’s house, jumping into a truck and trying to find a place to go. In the meantime, Smith said Johnson called “Big Jook,” who said he would get back with them about the bounty award. They then went to the apartments on Tulane Street in Whitehaven to clean up and called Govan because Smith had left his phone in the white Mercedes-Benz.

Govan agreed to meet up with Smith later at a car wash to hand the phone over. Smith’s girlfriend later picked him up. Together they drove over to meet Govan and retrieved the phone.

The night before the suspect Mercedes-Benz was discovered by law enforcement, Smith said Govan gave him cash to buy a car cover for the vehicle. Around the same time, Smith wiped it down to get rid of prints.

However, Smith never got the chance to cover the car because authorities found it first. The following Dec. 8, Govan told Smith he would provide the reward money soon, but Govan never had the chance to keep his word, Smith testified.

“The U.S. Marshals were on me the next day. I was in jail,” Smith said, adding that he was arrested on another’s daughter’s birthday. The reward money was later provided for lawyer fees.

During cross-examination, Smith said he is hoping to gain some benefits from testifying, but also wanted to tell the truth.

Upon questioning, Smith said he was intoxicated from popping pills when he was arrested, affecting his memory of some things. Arora pointed out that Smith had been coherent enough to become aware of law enforcement was following him, buy cake for his daughter and give her a phone — which was later recovered by law enforcement — before getting arrested.

Going back to the day of Dolph’s murder, Smith agreed he was bleeding heavily, but did not know if blood got into the Mercedes-Benz. When they swapped the car with Johnson’s truck, Smith said he drove them to the apartments on Tulane Street.

Around the night before the Mercedes-Benz was discovered, Smith said his girlfriend had dropped him off to wipe the car, so Govan would not shoot him. She also bought the car cover while Smith stayed outside, he testified.

Smith said he tried contacting — through something like Facebook or Instagram — “Big Jook” at some point to get his reward money.

The defense lawyer implied that Smith told police and prosecutors that two masked men gave $50,000 in cash in a paper bag before his arrest, but Smith denied it.

Smith then agreed that he told his lawyer to reach out to Mim’s lawyer Art Horne to get attorney fees, and the money showed up. Arora implied the money was given to keep Smith quiet.

Arora then cast doubt that someone who Smith just met would have trusted Smith enough to hire him for a job and vice versa. During questioning, Smith also recalled “Bobby” saying Govan could have been snitching to the police, causing Arora to question why Smith would have trusted Govan. Smith responded by saying he did not really trust “Bobby.”

Turning the topic on his girlfriend, Arora asked if she knew about the shooting and lied to police. Smith initially denied both statements, but then he admitted telling her he had been involved in a shooting to kill Dolph for money.

During cross examination, Smith also admitted to past crimes, such as domestic violence.

Throughout his questioning, Arora asked Smith about several statements he gave to authorities, but multiple times Smith did not remember them.

Before wrapping up, Arora noted that Smith claimed that Govan told him what to do every step of the way, despite having the ability and knowing how to do those things himself.

“It almost sounds like we’re being a child, right?,” Arora asked Smith. “You committed murder and you’re like, ‘Govan told me to get rid of the gun,’ or ‘Govan told me to get rid of the phone’ or Govan said to hide the car.’ You’ve been a pretty good criminal until then. You know you’re supposed to do those things.”

Prior to the ending of cross-examination, Smith said Govan hired him because he didn’t want his own camp getting involved.