Man admits helping two others gun down rapper Young Dolph at Memphis bakery trends now
A Tennessee man has admitted helping two suspects gun down rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush as a Memphis bakery.
Jermarcus Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty at Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tennessee, to three counts of accessory after the fact over the November 2021 murder of the music artist, whose real name is Adolph Thornton Jr.
The 36-year-old rapper had been buying cookies from Makeda's Homemade Cookies on Airways Boulevard, near his childhood home in south Memphis, when he was gunned down by two men after they pulled up in a stolen white Mercedes Benz.
Four people have so far been charged in connection with the shooting, including Johnson's half brother Justin Johnson, and accomplice Cornelius Smith, who are accused of being the gunmen.
Jermarcus Johnson is the only defendant to plead guilty.
Jermarcus Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of accessory after the fact over the November 2021 murder of the music artist
Young Dolph was buying cookies from his local bakery when he was gunned down by two men in a stolen Mercedes Benz on November 17, 2021
The scene of the crime - Makeda's Homemade Cookies in Memphis - was adorned with tributes to Young Dolph from fans and mourners in the wake of his death
During questioning by prosecutor Paul Hagerman on Friday, he acknowledged taking possession of a car from his half brother.
The car was not the two-door Mercedes involved in the killing, and Jermarcus Johnson had no role in the shooting but was one of 'multiple' players more broadly connected with it, Hagerman said.
He admitted helping the two gunmen suspects communicate via cellphone after the murder while they were on the run from authorities, and helping one of them communicate with his probation officer.
Johnson also identified a photo in which his half brother was wearing the same clothing as one of the two suspected gunmen.
Hagerman said after the hearing that dealing with a case with several defendants is 'a little bit like chess.'
'You've got to set up your pieces,' he said.
Judge Lee Coffee has approved a plea deal for Johnson with prosecutors, allowing him to avoid trial - although he could still testify.
Jermarcus Johnson is the only defendant out of four people charged in connection with the death of Young Dolph to plead guilty
Judge Lee V. Coffee showing Jermarcus Johnson the document involving his guilty plea at the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tennessee
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman said after the hearing that dealing with a case with several defendants is 'a little bit like chess'
Johnson was initially charged with the more serious offence of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, an indictment said.
His lawyer, Josh Corman, told reporters his client was an unwilling participant who was dragged into the aftermath of the killing.
'Sometimes it's one of those lessons of, you have to be careful who you know and who you associate with,' Corman said.
'In this case, it was a half brother of his who showed up to his apartment one day and
