Photo: Getty Images/Clay County Police Department
A man who was previously arrested in connection to Young Dolph's murder has been released from jail.
According to a report Fox 13 in Memphis published on Friday, January 20, Shundale Barnett was freed from a jail in Fort Worth, Texas. Burnett had been held at the jail until he bonded out on December 24, 2022. As of this report, there's no confirmation on whether he was in custody over previous charges relating to Young Dolph's death or separate offenses. He was initially arrested last January along with fellow suspect Justin Johnson in Indiana. While Johnson was held and eventually transferred to a jail in Memphis, Barnett was released instead.
Although he was expected to join Johnson in Memphis, Clay County Sheriff Paul Harden explained his office received a call from Shelby County Jail in Memphis and claimed that they were no longer interested in picking up Barnett. That's why they let him go. Barnett was considered a fugitive on the run especially after a new warrant for his arrest was issued in April 2022. Barnett was facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. So far, no records show if Barnett was held in Texas over those charges.
With Barnett out of the picture for now, there are currently four men in custody who have been charged with murdering Young Dolph in front of a cookie shop in his hometown of Memphis. Months after Johnson and Cornelius Smith were apprehended, Hernandez Govan was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Police believe Govan ordered the hit on Dolph and hired Johnson and Smith to carry out the job. Jermarcus Johnson turned himself into police a few days later after he was named as a suspect for allegedly hiding his half-brother Justin and Smith after the shooting and helped them get away.
Smith and Johnson were also recently indicted on conspiracy charges, but they haven't been formally charged yet. According to their lawyers, both of them plan to plead not guilty to the incoming charges.