Young Dolph‘s murder suspect Cornelius Smith has confessed to shooting the rapper to collect on a $100,000 bounty from Yo Gotti’s brother, Big Jook.
According to Smith, he and fellow suspect Justin Johnson entered the Memphis cookie shop in November 2021 and opened fire on Dolph in broad daylight.
In his testimony during Johnson’s trial on Monday (September 23), Smith confirmed that he was the person firing the semi-automatic weapon in CCTV footage of the murder.
Johnson is currently the only one of the three murder suspects on trial and Smith was testifying as part of the case against him.
Johnson’s attorney has rubbished Smith’s testimony and claimed that he is only trying to save himself from a lengthy jail bid.
Johnson also continues to maintain his innocence.
The murder of Young Dolph is said to have come from the well-documented feud between the late rapper and fellow Memphis native Yo Gotti. Big Jook himself was shot to death earlier this year in what was believed to be a targeted attack.
Smith claims to have been paid just $800 of the $40,000 he was expected to be paid for the hit before he was arrested, with Big Jook later depositing another $50,000 to his lawyer.
Smith himself was injured during the shooting after Dolph’s brother returned fire, striking the admitted killer in the shoulder, arm and leg.
During his testimony, Smith was asked what he was thinking after shooting the rapper, to which he replied: “I wasn’t feeling nothing at the time. I’m not gonna lie. I was trying to get some money.”
Johnson’s brother Jemarcus has previously pleaded guilty to serving as an accessory after the killing by helping the two shooters communicate following the murder.
Jemarcus Johnson is still awaiting sentencing.
Smith also implicated co-defendant Hernandez Govan in the killing, claiming he was the person who informed him and Johnson of the bounty placed on Young Dolph by Big Jook.
Govan has pleaded not guilty to organizing the killing.
Yo Gotti has yet to comment on his brother being accused of being behind Dolph’s death.
The issues beween the two rappers date back to 2016. An associate of Gotti’s was booked on attempted murder following a shooting at Dolph in September 2017, but he was ultimately released without charges.