*The suspects in the killing of rapper Young Dolph were arrested earlier this month and charged with first-degree murder. During their first two appearances before a judge, the two declined a court-appointed attorney.
Judge Lee Coffee has now given them a week to find representation, Uproxx reports.
“If you have a lawyer hired, that’s fine, but as I told you 10 days ago, I cannot allow you to sit in jail week after week, month after month, without a lawyer,” Judge Coffee told Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith during the hearing. “If you don’t have a lawyer hired on Feb. 4, I’m going to hire a private attorney to represent both of you all.”
In response to the judge’s request, Smith and Johnson both noted that their families are working on finding attorneys.
READ MORE: Cornelius Smith, Suspect in Young Dolph Murder, Appears in Court (Watch)
Dolph, born Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was killed on Nov. 17 while shopping at Makeda’s Butter Cookies in Memphis. He was pronounced dead at the scene at age 36.
We previously reported that Maurice Hill, the owner of the shop, told FOX13 his employees said Dolph walked into the store to buy cookies when a vehicle drove up and fired at the bakery. The gunmen were caught on camera driving up to the store and firing shots at the father of two. The Memphis Police Department shared photos from security footage outside the bakery, showing two armed men with their faces partially covered, exiting a white Mercedes-Benz.
“The suspects approached the victim while he was inside the business and shot the victim several times,” Memphis Police shared in a statement posted to Twitter at the time. “The suspects then fled the scene.”
Makeda’s Cookies, the Black-owned bakery that Dolph frequented, intends to pay homage to the late hip-hop star by renaming his favorite cookie—chocolate chip—after him.
“That was one thing that Dolph did, [he] used to say when you get off the expressway. He was like, ‘I can smell y’all. I’m getting off the expressway. I had to come in,” operations manager Raven Winton said. “To know that we’re not going to see that face anymore is… I’m trying to hold back tears.”
The bakery has launched a GoFundMe page to help repair the store following the shooting.
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