Suspect in Young Dolph killing will get a jury from outside Shelby County for murder trial

A suspect in the November 2021 killing of Memphis rap star Adolph Thornton Jr., known as Young Dolph, will face a jury from outside of Shelby County when he is tried for his alleged involvement in Thornton's death.

Justin Johnson's motion for a change of venue or change of jury was granted Friday by Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell. The trial will remain in a Shelby County courtroom with jurors brought in from outside the county.

According to the court's motion granting the request, the prosecution asserted Shelby County was not only the proper venue but that the jury would be pulled from a widely diverse population.

The judge disagreed, writing, "given the sheer magnitude of pretrial publicity that has permeated the area, this court is not convinced the geographic size of Shelby County is sufficient to gather a pool of prospective jurors with minimal exposure to the case."

Johnson was apprehended and arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service for his alleged part in Thornton's death in January of 2022. At the time, he was previously wanted by federal authorities for weapons violations.

This story is developing and will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Accused Young Dolph killer Justin Johnson to get jury from outside Shelby County