Young Dolph's Alleged Killer Claims "He Don't Have Any Money For A Lawyer" In Sex Offender Case

Justin Johnson will be appointed a lawyer for the violation of his sex offender registration charge and remains without an attorney for Dolph's suspected murder charge.

BYHayley Hynes
Jason Mendez/Getty Images

Justin Johnson's situation isn't looking any brighter. Late last month, the suspected killer of Young Dolph and his accomplice Cornelius Smith were granted more time from a judge to find legal representation, but during a court appearance on Monday, February 7th, it was revealed that they remain without a lawyer.

On top of the charges regarded Dolph's death, Johnson has also been charged with failure of a Tennessee sex offender to timely report or register, Action News 5 reports. Yesterday, he told a judge that "he don't have any money for a lawyer," for these charges.


According to AllHipHop, the alleged murderer was convicted of aggravated rape in 2015, and is required to report to police on a quarterly basis as a result, but didn't show up to his check-in back in December of last year.

For the sex offender charges, Johnson will be appointed a public defender, but for the first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, employment of a firearm during a dangerous felony, and theft of property over $10,000 charges, him and Smith claimed that they would be able to hire their own representation.

If convicted of the aforementioned crimes, the men could face life in prison or even the death penalty.

In other news, on January 12th, a third suspect named Shaundale Barnett was arrested as an "after-the-fact-accessory" in the tragic shooting that resulted in the "100 Shots" rapper's untimely death – read more about that here, and check back in with HNHH for any future updates on Justin Johnson's legal proceedings.

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.