A suspect in Young Dolph’s murder case is missing after being mistakenly released from an Indiana jail last month.
On November 17, Young Dolph, 36, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was shot and killed at Makeda’s Homemade Cookies in Memphis, Tennessee. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
In January, Shundale Barnett, 27, and two other primary murder suspects. Justin Johnson, 23, and Cornelius Smith, 32, were arrested. However, before the end of the month, Barnett, who was charged as an after-the-fact accessory, was released.
Johnson was arrested amidst accusations that he helped Smith flee Memphis after the murder, according to local CBS affiliate WREG-TV.
Barnett was held in Clay County, Indiana, following his arrest, and was set to be extradited to Memphis, reported WREG-TV. Instead of extradition, the suspect was released from custody on January 21.
Barnett’s whereabouts are now unknown. Another warrant for his arrest, on the original accessory-after-the-fact charge, has been issued.
He was being detained in Indiana and was expected to be extradited to Memphis along with Johnson. However, officials said that was not the case. Barnett is now wanted by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
The instruction from Shelby County was to release Barnett following his arrest, said Clay County Sherrif Paul Harden.
“On January 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 January 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.”
Memphis Police Department named two more persons of interest in connection with the murder on February 20: Devin Burns, 26, and Joshua Taylor, 26.
Harden added that they have “no idea” where Barnett is according to WREG-TV
