Hernandez Govan’s attorney questions the federal government’s decision to arrest his client just hours after a state court released him.
Hernandez Govan walked free from a murder charge last August, but federal authorities moved fast to lock him back up on cyberstalking allegations just days after his state release.
His attorney is calling the timing “highly suspicious,” and says the facts paint a picture of a system that couldn’t accept a jury’s verdict.
Govan was arrested on June 11 on state stalking and harassment charges, which are misdemeanors in Tennessee, and released the next day on a $4,000 bond.
Twelve hours after his release, federal agents arrested him on identical charges that carry a five-year federal prison sentence. That’s not how the feds typically operate.
“I find it highly suspicious that the day he’s released from custody on bond in state court, the Feds file a complaint,” attorney Claiborne Ferguson told Action News 5. “The federal government almost never files complaints, they go straight for an indictment. That is wildly unusual, especially on something that would be charged and is charged as a misdemeanor in state court. Somebody really had to go out of their way to get that done.”
The federal complaint alleges he threatened to shoot up his ex-girlfriend’s home over a $540 debt, texting her that he didn’t care about police or the National Guard protecting her house.
He also threatened to post explicit photos of her on social media, all while claiming he was “bigger than the devil.”
A federal magistrate ordered Govan held without bond, believing him a danger to the alleged victim. But the real context here is what came before.
Govan was the alleged mastermind behind Young Dolph’s murder. The rap star was shot and killed on November 17, 2021, at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies on Airways Boulevard in Memphis.
Prosecutors claimed Govan hired shooters Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith at the request of Big Jook, Yo Gotti’s brother, who allegedly placed a bounty on Young Dolph.
Young Dolph was hit at least 24 times, with wounds to his back, chin, neck, and both arms. A jury deliberated just three hours before acquitting Govan on all counts last August.
Johnson was sentenced to life, while Smith was hit with 20 years after taking a guilty plea.
