Hernandez Govan smiles while speaking to the media after he was found not guilty on all charges regarding his possible role in the murder of rapper Young Dolph on Aug. 21, 2025.
Hernandez Govan looks on as prosecution and defense attorneys speak with each other during a court recess on Aug. 20, 2025.

Hernandez Govan, the man police said planned the killing of rapper Young Dolph, was found not guilty on all counts in the high-profile shooting case.

One day after prosecutors and the defense delivered closing statements, a jury deliberated for about three hours on Thursday, Aug. 21, before handing down the blanket acquittal. The trial, which started Aug. 18, came nearly four years after Young Dolph was killed inside a cookie shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The rapper was 36 years old.

Multiple law enforcement witnesses testified on Aug. 19, with prosecutors attempting to link texts to Govan's involvement with Young Dolph's killing. Defense attorneys, meanwhile, tried to illustrate a wider conspiracy against artists with Dolph's record label.

Others who took the stand included a Memphis police sergeant, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agent and the girlfriend of Cornelius Smith. Smith was one of the two alleged gunmen who officials said shot and killed the Memphis rapper in November 2021.

Govan was indicted in November 2022 on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty.

Born in Chicago, Young Dolph (real name Adolph Thornton Jr.) was admired in Memphis as a torchbearer of the city’s rap legends, Three 6 Mafia. He launched his career in 2008 with a series of mixtapes.

Dolph's star rose over the years, as the Southern rap emcee moved up the hip-hop ranks and Billboard charts, which included Gold-certified hits such as "Play Wit Yo B----" and "100 Shots." His 2020 album, "Rich Slave," peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Young Dolph shooting suspect details Hernandez Govan's alleged involvement

Throughout the early parts of the case, prosecutors tried to tie Govan directly to paying out the bounty that was placed on Young Dolph.

According to testimony from Cornelius Smith, Govan and Big Jook, brother of rapper Yo Gotti, said there were various bounties on members of Dolph's music label, including a $100,000 bounty on the rapper himself.

Smith's testimony didn't include discussion of a murder plot against Dolph, but he explained how the shooting was allegedly covered up. Cleanup efforts included hiding the white Mercedes-Benz that was driven to and from Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies after Dolph was shot. Smith also testified that Govan directed him and provided money for a vehicle cover that would help hide the car.

Additionally, the man said Govan was the only person with access to Big Jook, meaning nobody else could ask for the money from the Dolph murder. Smith said Govan told him there would be a meeting with Big Jook at Privé, Yo Gotti's Memphis restaurant and bar, to get the payment.

Texts between Justin Johnson, who was found guilty in Dolph's murder, and other people affiliated with Collective Music Group also showed that there were other shootings planned. Some of those shootings were against artists affiliated with Dolph's Paper Route Empire label, and attorneys even displayed just how close Paper Route Empire's turkey drive event was to being targeted.

It was previously known that the turkey drive was a target, but during Govan's trial, prosecutors said Johnson, Smith and others arrived at the event armed. The incident was called off, though, after Smith allegedly had second thoughts.

How did Young Dolph die?

Young Dolph was killed inside Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies in Memphis on Nov. 17, 2021.

Police said two men got out of a car, armed with guns, and fired multiple shots into the cookie store. Young Dolph was killed at the scene. An autopsy report later found that the rapper had at least 20 bullet wounds.

Mourners quickly flocked to Makeda's, turning the boarded-up storefront into a memorial site for the Memphis rapper.

Questions about why the rapper was killed have abounded since his death. During the trial for Justin Johnson, who was convicted of shooting and killing the rapper, prosecutors tied Young Dolph's killing to a rap beef with Yo Gotti. According to prosecutors, the rapper's murder was orchestrated by Yo Gotti's brother, Big Jook.

Big Jook was later killed in a shooting in Memphis in January 2024.

Contributing: Micaela A Watts, Sarah Best, Brooke Muckerman and Bob Mehr, Memphis Commerical Appeal

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Young Dolph trial: Hernandez Govan found not guilty in rapper's 2021 murder

Reporting by Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal / Memphis Commercial Appeal

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