Suspect named in murder of rapper Young Dolph
Memphis police and the U.S. Marshals Service announced the name of a suspect in the shooting death of Young Dolph, the Memphis, Tennessee, rapper who was killed on Nov. 17.
Justin Johnson, 23, is wanted by police in connection with a number alleged charges, including first-degree murder, criminal attempted first-degree murder and property theft, the Memphis Police Department said on Wednesday evening in a release posted on social media.
Police urged the public to share any information regarding the suspect's whereabouts and said that Johnson is a fugitive and "should be considered armed & dangerous."
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.
Over the past decade, the rapper rose to prominence in the indie hip-hop scene by releasing a series of mixtapes and founded his independent record label, Paper Route Empire, in 2010.
Dolph was born in Chicago but grew up in Memphis and released his first studio album, "The King of Memphis," in 2016.
He was injured in a previous shooting in Los Angeles in September 2017.
He had two children, son Tre Tre and daughter Ari, with longtime partner Mia Jaye.
Dolph was honored at a public memorial at the FedEx Forum in Memphis last month as fans and community members gathered to pay tribute to the slain rapper one month after his death.
The rapper was remembered by friends, family, community leaders and aspiring artists, who recognized him as a family man, a trailblazing creative and a philanthropist who had a devotion to service and a deep connection with his community.
