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Hernandez Govan was accused of masterminding the murder of Young Dolph, which saw him shot and killed in 2021. However, on August 21st, the man was found not guilty.

After three hours of deliberation, a Memphis jury acquitted the 45-year-old of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

According to Associated Press, Shelby County Judge Jennifer Mitchell informed Govan he was free to leave the courtroom, prompting him to hug his attorney.

Govan was arrested and charged in November 2022, with prosecutors claiming he ordered two people to shoot Dolph (real name Adolph Thornton). The jury wasn’t convinced, despite a man testifying that Govan hired him to carry out the shooting for $10,000.

Govan’s defence lawyer, Manny Arora, told Rolling Stone, “While we are happy with the result, we were disappointed the prosecution decided to pursue this case, knowing the investigation lacked merit. The high-profile nature of the case doesn’t mean it is appropriate for the State to put someone/anyone on trial. The fact that any judge signed off on warrants to authorise Mr Govan’s arrest and have him sit in jail for nearly a year is shameful.”

Dolph died outside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, where two men in a Mercedes-Benz gunned him down and left 22 gunshot wounds. He was 36.

His partner, Mia Jaye, previously said, “You spend so much time making mistakes, learning from your mistakes, going through growing pains with someone, to finally have a period of time to experience everything that you wanted to, to finally get to a place where you’re ready to submit your love.

“We were in a place of love. We wanted to celebrate with our loved ones. We were ready, you know? And the day never comes, you know, because [he] was taken away in the blink of an eye, like, just never saw it coming.”