Investigation into Young Dolph's killing still ongoing after 3rd man indicted, MPD says

Four days after a third man was indicted in connection with Memphis rapper Young Dolph's killing, Memphis police said the investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.

According to court records, Hernandez Govan charged withfirst-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The Commercial Appeal obtained a copy of the indictment for the first two charges. Details of the conspiracy charge was not provided.

Two other men have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Young Dolph, but neither faces a conspiracy charge.

According to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, the office's policy is not to release indictments when someone is still at large. He would not comment about how that policy specifically applies to the investigation into Young Dolph's death.

Mulroy, in a newsletter sent out Wednesday, said "We allege that this individual solicited the murder and put it in motion. We will continue to seek justice in this killing.”

Young Dolph, whose birth name was Adolph Thornton, Jr., was shot and killed Nov. 17, 2021 — just under a year ago. The murder and attempted murder charges listed on the Shelby County inmate search — a tool that can be used to find who is being kept at the county jail at 201 Poplar — are dated Thornton's day of death. The conspiracy charge, however, is dated June 1, 2021.

Two other men, Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith, were arrested by the U.S. Marshal Service in Indiana in January. They both face first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder charges. They have not yet been charged or indicted with conspiracy charges.

Thornton was killed at Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Boulevard. He was 36-years-old. An autopsy report obtained by The Commercial Appeal through a public records request in March reported nearly two dozen wounds to the rapper's back, chin, neck and both arms.

Govan, 43, was arrested Thursday, and a police affidavit is not available as he has already been indicted by a grand jury.

Govan has previous convictions both at the state and federal levels. He was released from federal prison in July 2019 after serving 40 months for weapons and drug charges.

The nature of Govan's convictions in state court was not immediately clear. The Tennessee Department of Corrections listed Govan's release date as 2006. He has been arrested over the years on a variety of charges, ranging from drug offenses to aggravated assault.

In late September, 25-year-old Destinee Govan, Hernandez Govan's daughter, was killed in the uptown neighborhood of Houston. She was in a car along with another woman when two men exited a car in front of Destinee Govan's, approached the vehicle, and opened fire on both women.

She was pronounced dead at the scene; the 20-year-old passenger survived with minor injuries, according to KHOU 11 news. One person was arrested in connection with the shooting after police found him with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. An additional suspect has not been arrested.

Destinee Govan was a Memphis-born rapper known as Lotta Cash Desto. Her career as a hip-hop artist was boosted by Lil Uzi Vert, another artist out of Philadelphia who signed her.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at Lucas.Finton@CommercialAppeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: MPD: Third man indicted in Young Dolph killing, investigation ongoing