More than four years after Jan Dorf was murdered, the last suspect in connection with his death is close to reaching a plea deal.
On Thursday (February 12), Fox13 Memphis reported that 36-year-old Cornelius Smith, who admitted to being one of the gunmen who fatally shot Dolph outside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies in Memphis on November 17, 2021, has agreed to a plea deal in his case.
Smith is expected to plead guilty, but before that happens, details of where the Tennessee Department of Corrections will house him need to be confirmed.
A court hearing for Smith’s guilty plea is scheduled for March 30.
Cornelius Smith is one of three men arrested and put on trial for their role in the slain rapper’s death. In 2024, Smith pleaded guilty to participating in the shooting along with Justin Johnson and expected to receive $40,000 each for killing Dolph. Smith testified against Johnson at his 2024 trial, telling the court they were sent to kill Dolph as part of a hit by Yogotti’s late brother, Big Jock.
Justin Johnson was found guilty of all counts, including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to life in prison in 2024, while Hernandez Govan, who was accused of being the mastermind of the attack at the direction of Big Joe, was found guilty last August by a jury of being the mastermind of the attack. Hernandez Govan was found not guilty of first-degree murder and accessory to first-degree murder by a jury last August.
Watch the latest updates on the Young Dolph murder case
See the current status of each murdered rapper’s case
XXL looks back at the current state of hip-hop murders over the past 38 years.
