Two suspects have been put in custody after federal and local authorities arrested them in connection with the fatal shooting of rapper Young Dolph.

The rapper, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., was fatally shot November 17, 2021, at Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies in Memphis. 

The 36-year-old is survived by two children.

Justin Johnson, 23, was captured in Indiana by the US Marshal Service on Tuesday, according to a news release from the federal agency. 

He had been wanted for first-degree murder. The US Marshals Service, Memphis Police Department, Crime Stoppers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation previously offered a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to Johnson's capture.

Johnson is also a rapper who goes by the name Straight Drop. A news conference will be held Wednesday for authorities to provide more information on Johnson's arrest.

Cornelius Smith, 32, is the other man arrested in connection to Young Dolph's death. Smith was arrested December 9 in Southaven, about 210 miles northeast of Memphis, on an auto-theft warrant involving the white Mercedes Benz used in Young Dolph's shooting, according to a news release from the Shelby County District Attorney General's Office.

Authorities discovered the vehicle was taken in a November 10 carjacking. The vehicle was then found November 20 after a tip that the vehicle had been abandoned shortly after Young Dolph's killing three days prior, the release said.

Smith was indicted on first-degree murder charges Tuesday as well as on 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, the release said. The attempted murder charge stems from Young Dolph's brother, who was with the rapper at the time of his death.

Smith had been in custody in the DeSoto County Jail, but was extradited and transferred to the Shelby County Jail on Tuesday.


CNN