MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) u A Memphis man testified on Monday that he
and a second person shot and killed rapper Young Dolph after Big
Jook, the brother of rapper Yo Gotti, put a hit on him.

Cornelius Smith identified himself and Justin Johnson as the two
people seen on a Nov. 17, 2021, surveillance video exiting a
white Mercedes outside a Memphis cookie store about 30 seconds
after Young Dolph entered the store and then opening fire in
broad daylight.

Smith was testifying in the first day of JohnsonAs trial on
charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and being a
felon in possession of a gun.

Smith also faces murder and conspiracy charges. JohnsonAs
attorney, Luke Evans, told the jury in opening statements that
they should not trust SmithAs testimony because he was just
trying to save himself. Johnson is innocent, Evans said. Photos
of him wearing clothes like the person in the video do not mean
he is same as person, Evans said.

Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman, in opening statements,
said Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was
determined to make it on his own as an artist, and also with his
own label, Paper Route Empire.

oTrying to make it on your own can create enemies,o Hagerman
said.

He noted that Yo Gotti-founded rival record label Cocaine Muzic
Group (now known as Collective Music Group) and wanted Young
Dolph to work for them, but he turned them down. Young Dolph
later wrote diss tracks directed at the label, its artists, and
its onumber two person,o Big Jook.

Young Dolph had survived previous shootings. He was shot
multiple times in September 2017 after a fight outside a Los
Angeles hotel. In February of that year, his SUV was shot at in
Charlotte, North Carolina, more than 100 times. The incident was
the inspiration for the song o100 Shots.o He said he survived
because he had bulletproof panels in his vehicle.

Big Jook, whose real name was Anthony Mims, was shot and killed
outside a restaurant in January 2024, according to media reports.

Smith, who said he was shot in the arm and the leg by Young
DolphAs brother, Marcus Thornton, as he fled the cookie store
shooting testified that he received only $800 prior to his
arrest. He said his attorney was later paid another $50,000 by
Big Jook.

Asked by Hagerman how he felt after shooting Young Dolph, Smith
said, oI wasnAt feeling nothing at the time. IAm not gonna lie.
I was trying to get some money.o

Smith testified that his young son had died a few months before
and he had started opopping pills and not caring about nothing.o
His conscience started bothering him only later after he sobered
up in jail, he said.

Jermarcus Johnson pleaded guilty in June 2023 to three counts of
serving as an accessory after the killing by helping Smith and
Justin Johnson, his half-brother.

Jermarcus Johnson acknowledged helping the two shooting suspects
communicate by cellphone while they were on the run from
authorities and helping one of them communicate with his
probation officer. Jermarcus Johnson has not been sentenced.

Hernandez Govan has pleaded not guilty to organizing the killing.

Young Dolph began his career by releasing numerous mixtapes,
starting with 2008's oPaper Route Campaign.o His multiple studio
albums include his 2016 debut oKing of Memphis.o He also
collaborated on other mixtapes and albums with fellow rappers
Key Glock, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz and
others.

He had three albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with
2020's oRich Slaveo peaking at No. 4.

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Travis Loller contributed to this report from Nashville, Tenn.

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