Young Dolph Shooter Expected To Take Plea Deal Today

February 12, 2026

Cornelius Smith will plead guilty to killing Memphis rapper Young Dolph in a 2021 shooting that was orchestrated by Yo Gotti’s brother.

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The second man accused of murdering Young Dolph is due in court today, where he is expected to plead guilty to killing the beloved rap star.

Cornelius Smith has already confessed to shooting the Memphis rapper outside Makeda’s Cookies in November 2021. His attorney, Sharon Morales, had told reporters last month that they were working on a plea deal with prosecutors.

“We anticipate having a guilty plea on February 12,” Morales said in January.

Smith was the last person connected to Dolph’s murder whose case remained unresolved. His co-shooter, Justin Johnson, got life in prison plus 35 years after his conviction in September 2024.

Smith testified against Johnson during that trial. He told the jury about the $100,000 hit Yo Gotti’s older brother, Anthony “Big Jook” Mims, put on Dolph’s head.

The shooting in South Memphis occurred after Smith and Johnson pulled up to the cookie shop while Dolph was inside.

Security cameras caught the two men getting out of a white Mercedes-Benz and opening fire through the store’s windows. Dolph tried to get away but couldn’t escape the gunfire.

The 36-year-old rapper died at the scene.

Smith’s testimony painted a picture of a murder-for-hire plot that went all the way to the top of Memphis Hip-Hop. He said Big Jook had been trying to get Dolph killed for years.

The beef between Dolph and Yo Gotti’s crew had been simmering since 2017. It started over a record-label dispute. Dolph had turned down multiple offers to sign with Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group label.

He wanted to stay independent with his Paper Route Empire. That independence cost him his life, according to Smith’s testimony.

Hernandez Govan was supposed to be the middleman who connected the shooters to Big Jook. But a jury found him not guilty on all charges last summer.

Govan’s acquittal left prosecutors with just Smith and Johnson as the triggermen. Johnson fought his case all the way to trial. The jury convicted him of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Smith chose a different path. His cooperation with prosecutors likely helped him get a better deal than Johnson’s life sentence.

As for Big Jook, he never lived to see justice for Dolph’s murder. Someone shot and killed him outside a Memphis restaurant in January 2024.

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