Music

Young Dolph Shooter Cornelius Smith Jr. Pleads Guilty, Receives 20-Year Sentence

Cornelius Smith Jr., who previously confessed to shooting Young Dolph, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 20 years, concluding the rapper's murder case.

Rolling Stone·May 16, 2026·via Rolling Stone

Young Dolph Shooter Cornelius Smith Jr. Pleads Guilty, Receives 20-Year Sentence

Crimes and Court

Young Dolph Shooter Pleads Guilty, Concluding Rapper’s Murder Case

Cornelius Smith Jr., who previously admitted to shooting the rapper at a co-defendant's trial, sentenced to 20 years in prison

By Daniel Kreps

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May 16, 2026

The Tennessee man who previously admitted to shooting Young Dolph pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from the rapper’s 2021 death , bringing the murder case to its conclusion.

Cornelius Smith Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a plea deal with Memphis prosecutors, nearly two years after Smith admitted on the witness stand that he and co-defendant Justin Johnson shot Young Dolph during a daytime ambush at a Memphis bakery; Smith served as the main witness at the trial of Johnson , who was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison .

As part of the plea deal, Smith was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Smith previously faced charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, but those charges were dropped with the plea deal.

Smith also testified at the trial of Hernandez Govan, the alleged mastermind of the Young Dolph shooting; Govan was acquitted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder following a trial in August 2025.

One other person allegedly involved in the shooting, Justin Johnson’s brother Jemarcus Johnson, previously pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact and sentenced to six years of diversion and community service. With Smith’s plea deal, the case against all four people charged in Young Dolph’s murder has come to a close.

“Young Dolph was a beloved member of this community, his death a tragedy, his murder an outrage,” District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said in a statement Friday. “We’re glad to finally have this last part of the case resolved. The sentence properly reflects the gravity of the offense while giving due consideration to the cooperation this defendant provided. We hope this resolution can give Dolph’s family some sense of closure.”

“Smith cooperated in the prosecution and testified that he and Justin Johnson killed Dolph as part of a planned gang-related hit,” Deputy DA Paul Hagerman said in a statement.