Young Dolph murder suspect walks free after charges dismissed
Young Dolph was shot and killed in Memphis in November 2021 aged 36. According to the autopsy report, he suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head, neck and torso when he was murdered at Makeda’s Homemade Cookies. This week, a murder suspect has been released due to a clerical error.
Shundale Barnett was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, accessory after the fact and theft of property on January 27th. Barnett is the cousin of Justin Johnson, who was found guilty of murdering Dolph and sentenced to life in prison. By January 28th, the case against Barnett had been dropped, with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office issuing a statement about the error.
“During the investigation of Justin Johnson, Shundale Barnett was found with [Justin] Johnson at the time of his arrest in Indiana,” the statement said. “Based on this and other facts, a task force officer with the U.S. Marshals determined there was probable cause to charge Barnett with Accessory After the Fact, and an arrest warrant was issued as part of standard procedure.”
The statement continued, “As the investigation progressed, the DA’s Office determined that Barnett was not involved in the case and chose not to pursue charges, indicating the charge would be withdrawn. However, a delay in recalling the warrant left it active in the system. This clerical issue has now been resolved, and the charges against Barnett have been officially dismissed.”
Another suspect named Hernandez Govan is scheduled to go on trial this summer. Officials have called Govan the mastermind behind the shooting; he was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and faces up to life in prison.
“I think, you can imagine, whatever the guilty plea offer was, it’d be less than that sentence,” Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman told the media. “But, you know, he’s made his choices and will be tried.”
Dolph released his last album, Dum and Dummer 2, a collaborative project with Key Glock, in March 2021. While his last solo album, Rich Slave, dropped in August 2020, a posthumous album titled Paper Route Frank was released in December 2022.