Summary of the second day of rehearsal –

Here's what happened on the second day of the trial of Justin Johnson, one of the men accused of murdering rapper Young Dolph. Prosecutors presented a detailed timeline of events using videos and images.

The eerie footage tracked Johnson and Cornelius Smith, the second suspect, before, during and after the fatal shooting of Young Dolph, born Adolph Thornton Jr., at Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies in Memphis on November 17, 2021.

Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Paul Hagerman called retired police officer Terence Dabney, a former homicide investigator, as a witness. Dabney described 10 crime scene photos, including broken glass, Dolph's camouflaged Corvette, evidence markers next to shell casings, bullet holes in the walls and Dolph's necklace found in a flower pot. While Dolph's family was present in the courtroom, pictures of the rapper's body were shown only to the jury.

Investigators did their work and found shell casings from a pistol and an assault rifle, as well as 9mm rounds from return fire by Dolph's brother Marcus Thornton. Still images from surveillance footage showed two attackers: Smith, identified as the man with the assault rifle, was wearing a blue hoodie and gloves, while Johnson, seen wearing a Bass Pro Shops cap, was carrying a pistol.

Dabney testified that the weapons used in the shooting were not recovered. Surveillance footage tracked Johnson to the Haven Court Apartments after the shooting, where he was seen with his cousin, Kiana Hopper. Three days after the murder, a white Mercedes matching the suspects' vehicle but damaged by bullet holes was found abandoned in a wooded area near the residence of Hernandez Govan, the suspected mastermind of the murder.

Further investigation revealed that the Mercedes had been stolen weeks earlier in Mississippi by Treon Ingram. Fingerprints from the car matched those of Smith, Ingram and another accomplice, Khistin Garner. Ingram had been observed interacting with the Mercedes at a gas station on the morning of the murder.

Additionally, surveillance footage showed Johnson leaving his Crosstown Concourse apartment on the morning of the murder wearing the same clothing described in the suspect's description. He changed from a Ford Expedition to a white Mercedes before driving to the gas station and later returning to the apartment complex. Approximately 40 minutes before the murder, Johnson left the complex again, this time with his daughter, dressed in a black hoodie, gray sweatpants, and the now infamous Bass Pro Shops cap.

Prosecutor Hagerman also presented photographs as evidence showing Smith wearing a blue hoodie that matches the masked gunman in the footage. Both Smith and Johnson's cell phones were seized and analyzed as part of the investigation. Johnson was eventually arrested in Minneapolis as part of a nationwide manhunt.

One gets the feeling that the situation in this trial is seriously escalating and more and more evidence is emerging to support the charges.