U.S. Marshals, Memphis Police Department, Crime Stoppers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have named 23-year-old Justin Johnson as wanted for the shooting of Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., known in the rap world as Young Dolph.
The news came via a statement obtained by WREG Memphis. Dolph was killed November 17, 2021, outside a bakery that he frequented. He was 36. Johnson is wanted for first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and theft of property. A $15,000 reward is being offered for his capture.
Damn… that’s the dude police say killed Young Dolph, he’s pictured partying in the club wit him. SMH! pic.twitter.com/Uc69AZxD4R
— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) January 6, 2022
Johnson is 5-foot-8, 190 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes, police said. A reward of up to $15,000 is being ordered for information leading to his arrest, law enforcement said.
Young Dolph, whose given name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was shot and killed in Memphis on Nov. 17 while visiting Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, a bakery in South Memphis that the rapper was known to frequent. He was 36.
According to police, officers responded at at 12:24 p.m. local time to the scene of the shooting, where one male victim was found and pronounced dead at the scene.
The 23-year-old man, who is a Memphis-area rapper named Straight Drop, released a music video for his song “Going Straight In” on November 21 — four days after Dolph was killed — using the home where the getaway vehicle was found as his background. A grey Mercedes-Benz, which was allegedly used for the shooter to escape the scene of the crime, was previously found at the same house, helping police identitfy Johnson and name him as a suspect.
