Police: 2 men added as persons of interest in murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two more people have been named as persons of interest in the fatal shooting of Memphis rapper Young Dolph three months ago, authorities said Sunday.

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According to the Memphis Police Department, Devin Burns, 26, and Joshua Taylor, 26, are being sought by authorities, WHBQ-TV reported.

Burns had previous unrelated charges in 2015, including attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm and aggravated robbery, according to the television station.

Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was fatally shot on Nov. 17, 2021, at about 1 p.m. CST at Makeda’s Butter Cookies, a bakery in South Memphis, according to WHBQ. The shop’s owner, Maurice Hill, told the television station that Young Dolph, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., went into the store to buy cookies when someone drove up, shot and killed him.

>> Who was Young Dolph, rapper shot and killed in Memphis?

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Justin Johnson, 23, and Cornelius Smith, 3, were identified as the shooters who killed the rapper.

Johnson faces charges of first-degree murder and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000, according to WHBQ. Johnson, who reportedly raps under the stage name Straight Drop, was arrested for a 2017 triple shooting at a Memphis bowling alley, but he served only months of his five-year sentence, according to the television station.

>> Rapper Young Dolph killed in shooting in Memphis

In addition to a first-degree murder charge, Smith is charged with attempted first-degree murder, unlawfully carrying or possessing a weapon, employment of a firearm with intent to commit a felony and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000, police said.

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