A juror in Young Dolph homicide case mentioned Hernandez Govan ought to by no means have been tried as a consequence of weak proof.

Hernandez Govan walked free after a jury discovered him not responsible within the Young Dolph homicide trial, with the jury foreman later saying the case ought to have by no means reached a courtroom.

The panel reached its resolution after simply three hours of deliberation, concluding that prosecutors failed to satisfy the authorized commonplace of proof.

The foreman, chatting with WREG, pointed to the prosecution’s reliance on Cornelius Smith—a co-defendant-turned-witness—and his girlfriend, Angela, each of whom the jury discovered to be unreliable.

“It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove in court. Statement after statement, he was rebutted by his own statements. So if this is the prosecution’s star witness, that case should have never went to trial,” the jury foreman mentioned.

Govan had confronted costs of first-degree homicide and conspiracy in reference to the November 2021 killing of the Memphis rapper outdoors Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies.

Prosecutors alleged Govan helped coordinate the capturing, performing as a intermediary between the suspected mastermind and the shooters.

Smith testified that Govan recruited him and Justin Johnson to hold out the hit, allegedly providing $100,000. However, the protection attacked Smith’s credibility, arguing he was making an attempt to cut back his personal sentence and noting inconsistencies in his testimony.

Phone data confirmed contact between Govan, Smith, Johnson and Big Jook, who prosecutors mentioned was tied to a feud between Young Dolph’s Paper Route Empire and Yo Gotti’s CMG.

But the jury wasn’t convinced the digital trail proved Govan’s involvement in planning the murder.

“It is not what was there, but what wasn’t there,” the foreman added, explaining that the shortage of laborious proof in the end led to Govan’s acquittal.

Despite the emotional weight of the case, the jury centered strictly on the authorized threshold.

“You have to understand, I don’t think anybody—but I will just go with myself—felt great about the verdict,” the foreman mentioned. “There were tears afterwards. Even the judge said, ‘This is a big thing.’”

Govan hugged his legal professional and thanked the choose earlier than strolling out a free man on August 21, 2025.

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