Suspect in Young Dolph killing will get a jury from outside Shelby County for murder trial

A suspect in the November 2021 killing of Memphis rap star Adolph Thornton Jr., known as Young Dolph, will face a jury from outside of Shelby County when he is tried for his alleged involvement in Thornton's death.

Justin Johnson's motion for a change of venue or change of jury was granted Friday by Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell. The trial will remain in a Shelby County courtroom with jurors brought in from outside the county.

According to the court's motion granting the request, the prosecution asserted Shelby County was not only the proper venue but that the jury would be pulled from a widely diverse population.

The judge disagreed.

"Given the sheer magnitude of pretrial publicity that has permeated the area, this court is not convinced the geographic size of Shelby County is sufficient to gather a pool of prospective jurors with minimal exposure to the case," the court order read.

The judge also noted that as recently as mid-2023, media postings that celebrated Thornton's life and legacy were still being made; it's reasonable, the judge explained, that potential Shelby County jurors have a significant chance of consuming this type of media.

Johnson is one of three suspects awaiting trial in connection with Thornton's death. Hernandez Govan is out on bail and does not have a trial date. Both Johnson and Cornelius Smith are scheduled to stand trial starting on June 3.

Jermarcus Johnson, Justin Johnson's younger brother, accepted a plea deal for his charge as an accessory to murder after the fact.

Justin Johnson was apprehended and arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service for his alleged part in Thornton's death in January of 2022. At the time, he was previously wanted by federal authorities for weapons violations.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering issues tied to hospitals, healthcare, resource access and whatever else pops up. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Accused Young Dolph killer Justin Johnson to get jury from outside Shelby County