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50 Cent and ex-girlfriend were in legal tussle over home that burned

BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO | alfonso.castillo@newsday.com

9:40 PM EDT, May 30, 2008

The Dix Hills home owned by 50 Cent that was gutted by a suspicious fire is at the center of a contentious legal battle between the rapper and his former girlfriend.

The early morning blaze destroyed the 5,200-square-foot home at Sandra Drive within minutes. Six people who were inside, including the rapper's ex-girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, and the former couple's son, Marquise, 11, were treated for minor injuries.

The fire came Friday as 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, and Tompkins, 32, were embroiled in a battle for the six-bedroom house, which the rapper bought in January 2007 for $2.4 million.

Tompkins has said Jackson, 32, bought the house for her and their son. But Jackson has said the house is his and a Suffolk housing court judge in April ordered her evicted.

Then earlier this month, Tompkins sued Jackson in a Manhattan court for breach of contract. Finding that Tompkins had offered "sufficient facts to support her claim," a judge stayed her eviction pending a future hearing.

"This is the house where they wanted to live together with their child as a family," said Tompkins' attorney, Paul Catsandonis.

Tompkins accused Jackson of causing the fire.

"I know this came from 50 Cent," the hip hop star's ex-love interest, Shaniqua Tompkins, 32, said to reporters. "I know he did it."

Tompkins noted that a day earlier, she and her attorney had presented evidence in court supporting their claim to the house. "Now, mysteriously, the house gets burned down to the ground," she said.

An attorney for Jackson denied that, noting he was in Louisiana at the time.

"Any suggestion that Mr. Jackson had anything whatsoever to do with the fire at his home is outrageous and offensive," Brett Kimmel said.

A statement released on Jackson's behalf said he "expressed deep concern over this fire at his property. He is extremely thankful that everyone including his son, Marquise, escaped the burning house safely. He is confident that authorities will be conducting a thorough investigation of the incident and is eager to review their findings."

Dix Hills Fire Chief Larry Feld said the rapid spread of the blaze made it a "strong -- a strong, strong -- possibility that it is suspicious."

But Suffolk arson detectives stressed that the investigation is still in the early stages and that they had not determined if the fire was deliberately set at all.

"His name has come up by one of the witnesses, but he is currently in Louisiana, from what we understand," said Det. Sgt. Edward Fitzgerald.

Jackson gave a deposition in Catsandonis' Manhattan law office on Memorial Day, attorneys said. It became "heated ... right around the time when we were talking about the house," Catsandonis said.

Around the same time, Tompkins' current boyfriend and some other acquaintances arrived at the office and an exchange took place that caused Jackson "to beckon his bodyguard to confront them," Catsandonis said.

A fight ensued in which Catsandonis' office was "trashed," he said. New York police came and took an incident report in which Tompkins said Jackson lunged at her, police sources said, reading from the report. There were no arrests.

"The next thing I know, the house in question has burned down," Catsandonis said.

Kimmel said his client was not directly involved in the fight in the law office, which was the result of Tompkins bringing people "who had no business being there."

"My client categorically denies that there was ever a fight between ... [him and Tompkins] in connection with the house or otherwise," said Kimmel, adding that Jackson was in Louisiana filming a movie Friday.

Tompkins said she was sleeping in the house, along with Marquise, her two other children, her aunt and aunt's child, when she heard something crash through a downstairs window. She scrambled to wake everyone and get them all out of the burning house, she said.

The volatile relationship between Tompkins and the Grammy-nominated rapper dates back to 1995, when Tompkins was in college and Jackson was unemployed. According to court documents, the two agreed that Tompkins would support Jackson as he pursued a recording career. In return, Jackson promised that Tompkins would "share in all his earnings equally."

According to court documents, in 2005 Jackson "violently assaulted" Tompkins "by grabbing her hair, pushing her to the floor, and choking her" to force her to sign a release from any claim in connection with his autobiographical film, "Get Rich or Die Trying." No charges were filed against Jackson.

"I'm going to fight him to the end," Tompkins said. "This gives me more of a drive. I'm more determined than ever."

This story was reported by Christine Armario, Alfonso A. Castillo, Sophia Chang, Anthony M. DeStefano, Deborah S. Morris and Rocco Parascandola. It was written by Castillo.