The jury presiding over the trial for the murder of Young Dolph heard closing statements from lawyers on Thursday (September 26), but these remarks left some lingering questions. Most importantly, the court did not hear from the attack's alleged mastermind Hernandez Govan. Instead, Justin Johnson (the alleged gunman in the case) was the only one who stood trial, as Cornelius Smith – the other alleged gunman – confessed to the murder in testimony on Monday (September 23) and stated that Johnson was his accomplice. On the other hand, Govan was expected to testify against his codefendant Johnson, but never took the stand.
Prosecutors in the Young Dolph murder trial had some interesting explanations for this. "I don’t want to go into too much detail," Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy expressed to journalists on the scene. "But not every potential witness that we might have is necessary in a case. It’s not always necessary to bring everything you have to bear in order to prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt." Johnson's lawyer Luke Evans proposed that Govan did not testify because his side of the story would not have favored the prosecution.
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"I don’t have the ability to wave a magic wand and give him a reduced sentence if he comes in and testify for me," Evans reportedly remarked to jurors. "So he’s to my exclusion, to Mr. Johnson’s exclusion and to your exclusion. And if this is a truth-seeking function, why didn’t the state call him?" However, the prosecution in the Young Dolph case dismissed this argument. "He is a defendant," Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman stated while defending Govan's right to not incriminate himself. "He is not a missing witness. That would be be insane."
Johnson, Smith, and Govan faced first-degree murder charges, whereas a fourth accomplice (Johnson's brother Jermarcus) pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder charges. While the court did not try them alongside Johnson, Smith and Govan inked no formal plea deals. Smith claimed that he and Johnson carried out a $100K hit on Young Dolph (which Govan allegedly helped organize) at the behest of Yo Gotti's brother Big Jook, who was murdered in Memphis in January. No arrests have emerged in that case. As of writing this article, jurors will begin to deliberate this afternoon.
