The lawyer who was said to represent one of the suspects in Young Dolph‘s murder case has denied reports that he is representing anyone involved in the late rapper’s death.
After Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith were identified as Young Dolph’s murder suspects, it was announced that the alleged killers hired Art Horne as their attorney.
The news created more buzz around the case as Horne was the attorney who was successful in helping Blac Youngsta get off the hook after shooting a hundred rounds at Young Dolph’s car in 2017.
Once news of Horne and Johnson’s pairing started circulating, it was later announced that Horne had excused himself from the case. The attorney took to social media to clear up the rumors that he was working with the suspects in Young Dolph’s murder.
“After reading a few recent articles, watching a half dozen blogs, and skimming through the comments section, I’ve learned a sobering fact: Misinformation spreads and sells far faster than the truth. There’s also an old quote that goes: ‘A lie will make it halfway around the world before the truth puts its shoes on,'” Horne posted.
Horne responded to a commenter who asked if this meant that he wouldn’t be legally representing Johnson and Smith, which he confirmed.
A new lawyer has not been assigned to the suspects, who will need to find someone once they head to trial.
Police charged Johnson and Smith on Tuesday with first-degree murder and theft for the death of Young Dolph. The two were also charged with the attempted murder of Dolph’s brother, who was with the rapper on November 17 while buying bread for their mother at Makeda’s bakery in Memphis.
Johnson, who is a local rapper that goes by the name of Straight Drop, has maintained that he’s innocent of the charges and has capitalized on the attention he received after police issued a wanted bulletin for him. On Monday, the day he said he’d turn himself in, he dropped new music on his YouTube page.
In the meantime, officers have ramped up their investigation into the killing of Young Dolph and have arrested a third suspect in Indiana on Wednesday.
A man named Shundale Barnet has been charged with accessory to murder charges, according to Fox 13 Memphis. Barnett appeared to have been assisting Johnson escape as he was traveling with Johnson when he was arrested in Indiana on Wednesday by U.S. Marshals.
According to authorities, Barnett has allegedly assisted Johnson in concealing him and helping him get out of the state since the bulletin was issued in December. He is facing charges for accessory after the facts to first-degree murder, and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000
Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis also said police were working on leads that could see other persons connected to Dolph’s murder get charged.
Johnson and Barnett are currently in separate Indiana jails and are to be extradited to Memphis to be tried for their crimes.
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