Officials confirmed Tuesday that both alleged gunmen wanted for the brazen daylight ambush of Memphis rapper Young Dolph and his murder were in custody Rolling Stone.
Justin Johnson, 23 years old, was captured in Indiana around 3:00 p.m. “coordinated”U.S. Manhunt Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force (Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force) and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force were the names of the Marshals Service spokesperson.
This was when Shelby County prosecutors made public the identity of Cornelius Smith (32), as the second suspect.
A grand jury indicted Smith Tuesday on first degree murder charges. Shelby County District Attorney general Amy Weirich stated. He’s also facing additional counts of attempted first-degree murder, convicted felon in possession of a firearm, employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony, and theft of property over $10,000.
Smith is now in custody and on a nobail warrant. Smith was arrested first on December 9th in Southaven (Tennessee) on an auto-theft arrest warrant involving the Mercedes-Benz car used in the murders.
Young Dolph, 36, was visiting Makeda’s Cookies near Memphis International Airport when he was gunned down Nov. 17 in broad daylight. Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., a Memphis rapper, was gunned down by suspects in a white Mercedes 2014.
Officials stated Tuesday that the vehicle had been stolen in a carjacking at a Kirby Road gas station on Nov. 10. It was later found on Nov. 20 behind a residence in the 1100 block of Bradley in Orange Mound after a tipster said it was abandoned shortly after Young Dolph’s fatal shooting.
Officials said Smith was transferred from the DeSoto County Jail, Hernando to the Shelby County Jail Tuesday.
The victim in the attempted murder count was Young Dolph’s brother, who was with him at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.
Officials confirmed that Johnson had posted on social media that he would surrender to Memphis Police Monday. But he never did. Straight Drop, an aspiring rapper, was instead on the run.
Cornelius Smith, left; and Justin Johnson
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Late last Wednesday, Johnson was identified as a suspect by authorities. A Memphis Police Department first-degree murder warrant was issued for Johnson in the Young Dolph case.
Johnson is also on an outstanding warrant for violating federal supervised release in relation to a case involving weapons. “has ties to organized criminal gangs,”A statement by Memphis Police, the U.S. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Marshals Service and Memphis Police.
Young Dolph’s aunt, Rita Myers, told Rolling Stone Jan. 5 that the family was still reeling from her nephew’s senseless slaying.
“Our family has suffered a tremendous loss, because he was the glue that held our family together,”Myers spoke of her nephew. “I’m still crying, day and night. We were very close. And it’s not just me, it’s the whole family. I couldn’t even say ‘Merry Christmas,’ or celebrate my birthday, or say ‘Happy New Year’ to anyone, because I don’t feel that. It’s like we lost a part of ourselves, and I can’t see an end to the suffering and hurt.”