Young Dolph's Self-Admitted Gunman Delays His Fate Again

BY Zachary Horvath
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 09: Rapper Young Dolph attends 2021 ONE Musicfest at Centennial Olympic Park on October 09, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
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Young Dolph's murder case is inches away from closing, but Cornelius Smith and his legal reps are hung up on one detail of his plea deal.

The third and final criminal in Young Dolph's murder case is delaying it from ending once and for all. That would be the self-admitted gunman, Cornelius Smith. Back in February, he was expected to enter a guilty plea deal during a sentencing hearing. However, him and legal representation couldn't come to an agreement on his housing arrangements (see video below).

So, his fate was pushed back to today, March 30. But once again, Smiths' team still needs more time to finalize this portion of the deal. It's still intact, just not this specific area.

As a result, a Memphis, Tennessee courthouse has decided to give both the plaintiff's side and the defendant's side more time to work something out.

Per FOX 13, Cornelius Smith's hearing is now going to happen in "mid-May" if all goes according to plan. It seems like Smith would prefer to be held in solitary confinement for his own protection. However, that's merely speculation as of now.

It would make sense for him considering the crime he committed was on a beloved rapper in Young Dolph.

Given that Smith has been working with authorities and testified against co-shooter Justin Johnson, there's a chance his sentence isn't as life-ending.

But there's also still a great chance that a life bid is still on the table.

Young Dolph's Murder Case

Johnson did in fact receive that punishment, as well as an additional 50 years behind bars. Earlier this month, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his 2024 conviction.

He did try and bring forward four issues he had such as there not being sufficient evidence for the jury to convict him. However, the court of appeals didn't see any sort of avenue in which Johnson wasn't at fault. "... The evidence of defendant’s guilt was overwhelming, and the prosecutor’s comments were brief," they said at the time.

Johnson was found guilty on charges of premeditated first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

About The Author
Zachary Horvath is one of the Music Freelance News Writers at HotNewHipHop and has held that title since August 2023. Prior to this position, he held another freelance gig covering local high school football, girls and boys varsity basketball, in addition to recapping Cleveland Cavaliers games remotely. He's taken the previous experience and used it to become a jack of all trades at HotNewHipHop. Zach has thoroughly enjoyed tackling some of the trending topics in sports, with a larger focus on hip-hop and pop culture. Some of those include Bronny James's draft stock, a multitude of angles swirling around the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, as well as Diddy's arrest and lawsuits. Separate from the headlines that everyone wants to hear about, he was fortunate enough to help spread Zaytoven's current thoughts at the time around mid-December in 2023. Even though being able to give his expertise on these stories is fulfilling, being able to share his passion for releases trumps that ever so slightly. Having the chance to express his excitement indirectly about what he thinks our readers should be checking out/revisiting grows his passion for writing that much more.

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