Young Dolph Murder Suspect Mistakenly Released

A suspect in the Young Dolph murder case is reportedly wanted by police after being mistakenly released from an Indiana jail when he was supposed to be extradited to Memphis.

The whereabouts of Shundale Barnett, the third suspect in the killing of Young Dolph, are currently unknown, according to a report released by Memphis’ News 3 on Feb. 17. Barnett, who is being charged with accessory after the fact, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder and theft of property in connection to Dolph’s slaying, was originally arrested alongside the man authorities believe to be one of the two shooters, Justin Johnson, 23, in Indiana on Jan. 11. Both men were being held in the Clay County Jail by the Indiana State Police.

According to the report, officials in Indiana say authorities in Shelby County, Tenn. told them to release Barnett. He was then supposed to be extradited to Memphis by the U.S. Marshals Service. Instead, in an apparent miscommunication, he was let go free on Jan. 21. He is now reportedly a wanted man.

Clay County Sheriff Paul Harden says he was given orders to release Barnett. “On Jan. 11, Mr. Shundale Barnett was brought to the Clay County Jail by the Indiana State Police from an arrest on I-70. He was booked in the Clay County Jail on an outstanding warrant from Shelby County, Tennessee,” Sheriff Harden told the outlet. “We held them, contacted Shelby County, and held him on their warrant and we were contacted on Jan. 21 and they told us that they were no longer wanting to come up and pick up Mr. Barnett and that we were to release him at that time.”

Johnson was extradited to Memphis on schedule, where he along with the second suspected shooter, Cornelius Smith, 32, pleaded not-guilty in Dolph’s murder on Feb 11.

Johnson and Smith are accused of exiting a stolen Mercedes-Benz  and firing shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, striking and killing Young Dolph, who was in the store making a purchase on Nov. 17, 2021. The incident was captured on camera and police used the surveillance footage to track down the vehicle used in the crime and the alleged shooters.

On Sunday (Feb. 20), the Memphis Police Department named two more persons of interest in connection with the murder: Devin Burns, 26, and Joshua Taylor, 26.

XXL has reached out to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

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