The trial of Young Dolphin‘s alleged killers got off to a bombshell start, as one of the accused shooters confessed in court and even implicated his co-defendant.
When testifying on Monday, Cornelius Smith admitted that he was in fact the man seen firing the semi-automatic weapon in the November 2021 surveillance footage that captured the Memphis rap star murder.
According to Smith, he had no emotions at the time he took Dolph’s life, he was simply trying to line his pockets with money – $100,000 to be exact, paid by I Gottibrother now deceased Big Jook, who was murdered in January.
Cornelius Smith, the second shooter, says he and Justin had a video call #BigJoke right after the shooting to claim his job 🐬 #LongLiveDolph #YoungDolph photo.twitter.com/48BQ14w33l
— Traps and Logs (@trapsntrunks) September 23, 2024
@armadilhasntrunks
Smith also testified that Justin Johnson was his accomplice in the murder and pointed to him as the man who fired the gun. He also implicated the other suspect Hernandez Govan as their former drug dealer and the person who informed them that Jook had a $100,000 bounty on Dolph.
Smith said he and Johnson had only known each other for “a few months” before the shooting, but the plan was for them to take $40,000 each and give $10,000 to Govan.
His math isn’t great, as that leaves $10,000 unaccounted for — but Smith says he only managed to take home $800 when it was all over.
Smith says they chased Dolph before his Thanksgiving trip, where they eventually followed him to his favorite cookie shop and opened fire. He testified, “I wasn’t feeling anything at the time. I was just trying to get some money… I saw him standing by the window. I just got out of the car and started shooting.”
NOVEMBER 2021
The hit didn’t go entirely smoothly… Dolph’s brother retaliated, shooting Smith in the shoulder, arm, and leg, leaving him bleeding before he healed himself with a medical kit in a nearby apartment.
Cornelius Smith (one of the shooters) testified that big Jook had 100,000 hits on young Dolph’s head.
He said they knew young Dolph had a turkey hunt all week.
“We knew he had a turkey hunt all week, we just didn’t know when we would catch him.” photo.twitter.com/mIXTt0IpWX
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY account) (@shannonsharpeee) September 23, 2024
@shannonsharpeee
After the attack, Smith said they video-called Big Jook to relay the news, but said he eventually remembered “having a conscience” — hence his confession in court.
The trial was not expected to last longer than this week, and Smith’s testimony may explain why.