After years of denying allegations that he was responsible for the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur that detonated a long and deadly bi-coastal feud, Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond reportedly reversed himself, admitting involvement in the shooting while in custody for federal drug trafficking charges.
The admission has come to light via a transcript of the drug trial that was obtained by the Village Voice. In it, prosecutors say Rosemond previously admitted to them that he was involved in the Tupac shooting in an effort to negotiate reduced sentencing.
Rosemond's confession was not to be used against him in the trial, but became a topic of discussion when his defense lawyer attempted to paint him as a victim of a smear campaign. After he emphatically denounced a 2008 article in the Los Angeles Times that implicated Henchman in the shooting as "utterly false," the prosecutor approached the bench with an objection.
"If [Rosemond's attorney] is going to argue that this was a fabricated article, it's the government's position that we can put in the defendant's own admission about that particular shooting," the prosecutor said. "In saying it is not true, when in fact it is true, the government should be able to rebut that argument that he's making, [and introduce] that the defendant actually admitted to this 1994 shooting."
Last year, Dexter Isaac, a former friend of Rosemond who was serving an unrelated sentence, came forward to admit that he was the one hired by the hip hop mogul to rob Tupac at gunpoint. Isaac said Rosemond paid him $2,500 for the incident, which ended with Tupac shot five times.
As the statute of limitations on a robbery in New York expired 11 years ago, it would have been impossible for Rosemond or Isaac to be charged with Shakur's assault.
Rosemond is currently awaiting sentencing after having been found guilty in the drug trial. Last weekend, he was formally indicted for a separate charge that he ordered the fatal shooting of 50 Cent associate Lowell "Lodi Mack" Fletcher in 2009.

BET.com is your #1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.