The prosecution and the defense rested their cases on Wednesday morning in the trial of Hernandez Govan, who is accused of masterminding the murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph.
In a previous trial, convicted killer Cornelius Smith testified that Govan and rapper Yo Gotti’s brother Anthony Mims, a.k.a. “Big Jook”, put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph.
Dolph, real name Adolph Thornton Jr., 36, was fatally shot at Makeda’s Homemade Cookies in Memphis on Nov. 17, 2021.
The prosecution played surveillance video that showed Dolph purchasing his favorite cookies in the store. At one point, he walked away from others inside the cookie shop.
The prosecution said Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith hopped out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and opened fire on Dolph through the cookie store’s plate glass windows.
The state called assistant medical examiner Dr. Juliette Scantlebury to the stand on Wednesday.
She explained the extent of Dolph’s fatal injuries. She also showed slides of his blood-soaked clothing.
Dr. Scantlebury said Dolph was struck 20 times with four exit wounds in 5 seconds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The video shows the killers waited until Dolph walked away from other people in the store before they opened fire.
The killers’ actions may have saved the lives of others in the store, including Dolph’s brother Marcus Thornton who shot back at the fleeing gunmen.
The first video below shows Dolph’s final moments inside the cookie store. The second video shows the killers pulling up outside.
The videos contain scenes that may be disturbing to viewers.
Day 1 of the Young dolph murder trial
Prosecutors play surveillance video of the moment young dolph was gunned down while buying cookies pic.twitter.com/L40gLhukQX
— 21 Chapo (@ElonChapo) September 23, 2024
