Young Dolph Murder Suspect Let Go After Clerical Error Leads To His Arrest

BY Cole Blake 4.5K Views
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COLLEGE PARK, GEORGIA - AUGUST 23: Rapper Young Dolph performs on stage during the Parking Lot Concert series at Gateway Center Arena on August 23, 2020 in College Park, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The DA’s office says there was a mistake.

Young Dolph's murder case suffered a strange hitch, earlier this week, after Shundale Barnett was arrested and charged with those two crimes in connection to the rapper's 2021 killing. Barnett is the cousin of Justin Johnson, who was already found guilty of the killing, last year. Justin is currently serving life in prison for the crime. The Shelby County District Attorney’s office put out a statement on Tuesday, clarifying that U.S. Marshals previously considered a warrant for Shundale's arrest, but the DA’s Office decided against it. Somewhere along the line, there was a miscommunication.

“During the investigation of Justin Johnson, Shundale Barnett was found with [Justin] Johnson at the time of his arrest in Indiana,” the statement explained. “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."

Mia Jaye Speaks Out On Justin Johnson

The statement further added: “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determined that Barnett was not involved in the case and chose not to pursue charges, indicating the charge would be withdrawn.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.”

Justin Johnson is trying get to a new trial in his case, which set Dolph's fiancée, Mia Jaye, off on Instagram, last fall. “It’s infuriating to see the person who took our loved one’s life now seeking a new trial over ‘insufficient evidence.’ Their arrogance feels like a cruel joke to me and my loved ones," she wrote. "We won’t let this deter us; we will keep fighting for justice and honor the memory of Adolph [heart emoji].” The clerical error comes as one more suspect in the case, Hernandez Govan, will go on trial, during the summer.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.