Entertainment
Hernandez Govan found not guilty in ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph
A man on trial for organizing the ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in 2021 has been found not guilty.
A Memphis jury deliberated about three hours before finding Hernandez Govan, 45, not guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He rejected an offer from the state last month to settle with a guilty plea, CBS News affiliate WREG reported.
On Thursday, Govan hugged his lawyer and thanked Shelby County Judge Jennifer Mitchell after she told him he was free to go.
Govan was not accused of shooting Young Dolph, but prosecutors claimed he directed the two people who did. The jury was not convinced, however, despite a man’s testimony that Govan hired him to “do the hits” and was going to take $10,000 as his cut.
Govan’s lawyer questioned the quality of the police investigation and the validity of cellphone communications between Govan and the men who shot Dolph, arguing that nothing in the communications directly incriminated Govan or tied him to the killings.
Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP, File
Young Dolph, whose legal name is Adolph Thornton Jr., was a rapper, independent label owner and producer who grew up in Memphis and was admired in the city for his charitable works.
On the day of the 2021 ambush, the 36-year-old was in his hometown to hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to families when his visit to his favorite cookie shop turned into an attack that shocked the entertainment world.
Authorities said two men exited a white Mercedes-Benz and began shooting at the rapper at the bakery. He died after being shot about 20 times, according to a medical examiner’s report.
Four years earlier, Young Dolph suffered critical injuries in a 2017 attack, when three men approached and shot him over “beef,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Earlier that same year, he had been involved in a separate shooting where at least 100 bullets were fired at his SUV.
Testifying against Govan was Cornelius Smith Jr., who has admitted to being one of the two shooters who ambushed Young Dolph. Smith previously was the main witness against Justin Johnson, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2024 after Smith named him as the second shooter.
Smith faces charges for murder and conspiracy to commit murder for his alleged role in Young Dolph’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and does not currently have a trial date set. Johnson was originally sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole following his 2024 conviction, plus an additional 35 years for two additional convictions from his trial.
Memphis prosecutors have portrayed Young Dolph’s killing as part of an effort by Anthony “Big Jook” Mims to get revenge on Young Dolph for diss tracks aimed at Big Jook and the record label he helped run for his brother, rapper Yo Gotti. Smith has testified that Big Jook put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph as well as smaller bounties on all the artists at Young Dolph’s record label, Paper Route Empire.
At Johnson’s earlier trial, a prosecutor told jurors Cocaine Muzik Group (now known as Collective Music Group), a rival record label founded by Yo Gotti, wanted Young Dolph to work for them, but he turned them down.
Big Jook was shot and killed outside a restaurant in January 2024.
Smith testified Monday that “I didn’t know anything about Paper Route having no hits,” before Govan told him about them. He said Govan hired him to “do the hits,” including giving Smith guns for the killing, and was going to take $10,000 as his cut. Govan was also the person who told him and Johnson that Young Dolph would be in Memphis for the Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, so “that’s our opportunity,” Smith said.
Prosecutors introduced as evidence dozens of cellphone communications between Johnson, Smith, Govan and Big Jook ahead of the shooting.
Meanwhile, Govan’s defense attorney, Manny Arora, tried to paint Smith as an unreliable witness who would say anything to try to get a lighter sentence.
Arora pointed to previous testimony where Smith recalled a chance encounter with Big Jook. At the time, Smith implied that Big Jook was the person who hired him. After Smith was arrested, his attorney called Big Jook’s attorney and received somewhere between $38,000 and $50,000 in cash. Smith said on Monday that he did not know who had supplied the money.
Smith also testified that he previously heard that Govan might be working with the FBI. Arora asked why Smith would take a job from Govan if that were the case. Smith said Govan was “innocent until proven guilty.”
Govan did not testify in his defense.
Smith is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder but has pleaded not guilty and does not yet have a trial date.
Johnson was sentenced last September to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He was later sentenced for two other convictions from the trial: conspiracy to commit murder and being a felon in possession of a gun.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding plans have been revealed.
On Wednesday, an insider revealed to Page Six that the pop sensation and the NFL star plan to have a “casual” and “private” ceremony with family and close friends when they eventually exchange vows.
“It will be more casual than people think,” the source told the outlet a day after the couple announced their engagement.
Taylor and Travis announced their engagement on Tuesday, August 26, via a joint Instagram post.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the newly engaged couple penned alongside several photos showing Kansas City Chiefs star Travis proposing to Taylor.
Recently, Travis’ father, Ed, spilled shocking details about his son’s proposal to Taylor.
Speaking to News 5 Cleveland, Ed Kelce revealed that Travis’ proposal to the singer “didn’t go exactly as planned.”
He shared that the professional player wanted to make a proposal to Taylor a “big and special event.”
“He was going to put her off ’til this week, to, you know, make some grand thing, to make it a big special event,” said Ed.
A superhero film is commonly about good guys, but not Thunderbolts*. It features a band of characters that falls into what may be called ‘grey areas.’
Jake Schreier, director behind the Marvel movie, explained the complex characters in an interview with Empire.
“You’re talking about a group of characters that have done a lot of bad things, and maybe are struggling with feeling good about themselves,” the filmmaker said.
However, the director noted, “There’s an element that does speak to mental health, and loneliness.”
“And how some of the darkness that we experience in our lives can’t be necessarily fixed, but can only really be made lighter through connection and finding others,” he shared.
As far as lessons are concerned, Jake said he learned from filming Thunderbolts* that “there are so many things that I didn’t know about before I started the film.”
He continued, “The biggest learning curve for me was the proportion of the action to the more emotional, character-driven scenes.”
The filmmaker noted, “And how, even though it’s more shooting days than I’ve ever had, they get eaten up quite quickly by the action stuff.”
“By the time we got to the end of it, it felt like, ‘Oh, now I feel like we get how to do this a little bit better,” he shared.
“(On Thunderbolts*) we’re in the middle of nowhere in Utah, in a gorgeous location, owning a road, and filming in 100-degree heat,” Jake added.
“Or finding yourself on the second-tallest building in the world. These are very special experiences,” the director concluded.
Thunderbolts* is streaming on Disney+.
Kid Cudi is spilling how his relationship with marijuana has shifted after a past of heavy addiction.
In a recent chat with People, the rapper opened up about his readmission to rehab back in November 2024, which he also shared in his book Cudi: The Memoir.
“I just was in this place where I was abusing it,” Cudi said. “I was really abusing it. I was smoking maybe 15 blunts a day, wake up in the mornings, get high. It truly ruled my life.”
Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, revealed that he even got sober for two months before he restarted taking it in moderation.
“And now I just get after it at night or on the weekends when I have the free time and I’m just relaxing, but I’m not smoking nowhere near as much weed as I was smoking before,” he detailed.
“A joint lasts me all day, damn near. So my relationship has changed with that in a major way. And I’m just more interested in being sober a lot more and being more present.”
Cudi added that cutting back has improved his acting. “Because in this movie, I cried a handful of times and it was easy to get there because I was sober,” he said. “There’s no way I could have done this if I was high as s***.”
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