Cornelius Smith, one of the men charged in the murder of Young Dolph, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after accepting a plea deal.
On Friday, May 15, Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 20-year sentence. As part of the agreement, he is also required to testify during hearing for the remaining murder suspects, which is scheduled for Friday, May 22.
According to court documents, Smith accepted the plea deal in exchange for a reduced charge.
Smith was initially charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder. Under the plea agreement, those charges will be dropped, according to XXL Magazine.
Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Hagerman said Young Dolph’s family was informed throughout the process and understood the importance of Smith’s cooperation in the case.
“From his arrest until now, Cornelius has accepted responsibility, and he’s agreed to cooperate. The family understood and they were in the loop all along that to solve complex cases lie this often times you need somebody to cooperate, and that means at the end of the day you have to take a person’s cooperation and truthful testimony into consideration, but I think we struck a balance of something that’s firm and something that gave them a measure of justice that they wanted.”
The case remains ongoing as prosecutors continue proceedings against the remaining suspects connected to Young Dolph’s death.
