The two men charged for the first-degree murder of Young Dolph have failed to retain the attorney for Dolph’s nemesis Yo Gotti and Blac Youngsta, Arthur Horne.
Suspects Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith reportedly wanted to be represented by Art Horne, who has been both Yo Gotti’s and Blac Youngsta’s longtime lawyer and who defended Blac Youngsta when he was charged for shooting up Dolph’s car back in 2017.
Horne was successful in getting the case against Blac Youngsta dismissed.
According to Fox 13 Memphis, Horne had previously indicated that he would make a statement after Johnson turned himself to police, which he failed to do but was later captured in Indiana on the run by a multi-agency effort.
Following the reports, Art Horne released a statement via Instagram responding to a comment saying, “After reading a few recent articles, watching a half dozen blogs and skimming through the comments section I’ve learned a sobering fact: Misinformation spreads and sells far faster than the truth.”
Police charged Johnson and Smith on Tuesday, January 11, for a raft of charges, including the attempted murder of Young Dolph’s brother, who was with the rapper on November 17 while buying bread for their mother at Makeda’s bakery in Memphis.
Justin Johnson, who is a local rapper that goes by the name of Straight Drop, has maintained that he’s innocent of the charges and has capitalized on the attention he received after police issued a wanted bulletin for him. On Monday, the day he promised to turn himself in, he dropped new music on his YouTube page.
In the meantime, the police have ramped up their investigation into the killing of Young Dolph and have arrested a third suspect in Indiana on Wednesday.
According to Fox 13 Memphis, a man named Shundale Barnett has been charged with accessory to murder charges. Barnett appeared to have been assisting Johnson escape as he was traveling with Johnson when he was arrested in Indiana yesterday by U.S Marshals.
According to Authorities, Barnett has allegedly assisted Johnson in concealing him and helping him to get out of state since the wanted bulletin was issued in December. He is facing charges for accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000.
Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis also said the police were working on leads that could see other persons connected to Dolph’s murder get charged. Meanwhile, Johnson and Barnett are currently in separate Indiana jails and are to be extradited to Memphis to be tried for their crimes.
Davis has not revealed more but said the investigation is ongoing.
NEW INFORMATION:
Straight Drop (Justin Johnson) needs a new lawyer. Art Horne just told me Drop got dropped. Horne confirmed he is not representing anyone associated with the Young Dolph murder case. pic.twitter.com/wbUSyB8RyX— Jeremy Pierre FOX13 (@JeremypierreFOX) January 13, 2022
