What happened to Hernandez Govan's daughter, Lotta Cash Desto? All we know about the man acquitted in the Young Dolph murder

On August 21, 2025, Hernandez Govan, 45, the father of late Memphis rapper Lotta Cash Desto, was acquitted on all charges in the murder of Chicago’s rising hip-hop star, Young Dolph.

A year after Dolph’s fatal shooting, Govan was arrested and indicted in November 2022 on three felony counts, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

At the time, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told FOX13 that Govan is the one who solicited Young Dolph’s murder to rap artist Justin “Straight Dropp” Johnson and Cornelius Smith, who carried out the shooting.

Meanwhile, Hernandez’s daughter, Lotta Cash Desto, was gunned down in Houston in September 2022. She was 25. A 24-year-old man named Christian Isaiah Williams was charged with murder.

In October 2024, Hernandez Govan’s trial date was set for March 2025. However, it got postponed to July. After a week of deliberation, he was found not guilty on all charges.

However, other suspects in Young Dolph’s killing, including Justin Johnson, were found guilty on all three counts and sentenced to life in prison in 2024. Cornelius Smith is set to have his own trial. Meanwhile, he testified at both Justin's and Hernandez’s trials.

Exploring the life and career of Hernandez Govan’s late daughter, Lotta Cash Desto

Lotta Cash Desto was born Destinee Govan on September 12, 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. She worked closely and was signed to Lil Uzi Vert’s label, who considered her his “twin” or “sister.” Together, the rappers released the August 2022 song, Lunchroom, and the February 2023 single, Vegas.

The music video of Lunchroom amassed millions of views. Before that, Desto dropped her debut single on her self-titled YouTube channel in August 2015.

On YouTube, Lotta Cash Desto also shared remixes of other rappers’ works, including Kodak Black’s I Wish in March 2022. She had an Instagram profile with over 90,000 followers.

On September 24, 2022, Destinee Govan was fatally shot in the 5500 block of Richmond Avenue in Houston, Texas, around 2:40 am local time. Govan was declared dead at the scene by first responders who found her unresponsive in the driver’s seat.

Two others, including a female passenger in her Porsche SUV and a male passerby, were injured in the shooting and transported to a local hospital.

In the aftermath of her demise, Hernandez Govan paid his daughter tribute in multiple Facebook posts. He also apologized to her, claiming his lifestyle may have led to her untimely death. Christian Isaiah Williams, 24, was arrested and charged with Destinee’s murder.

In April 2023, another suspect, Jeremyah Smith, 19, was arrested in Alexandria, Louisiana, and charged with murder.

As for Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., he was killed in a drive-by shooting in broad daylight at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies store in Memphis on November 17, 2021. Dolph was 36. Five suspects, including Hernandez Govan, were arrested, charged, and indicted for the crime.

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According to one of the suspects, Cornelius Smith, Yo Gotti’s brother, Anthony “Big Jook” Mims, put a $100,000 bounty on Young Dolph. Smith further testified that Govan orchestrated the murder with him and others who were accused.

While Big Jooks died in a fatal shooting last year, Lotta Cash Desto’s father maintained his innocence since his arrest. After his acquittal, he told reporters outside the courthouse that he felt like he had been “born again.” He added he intends to “restart my life and do some positive things.”

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