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Busta Rhymes May Cop Plea in Assault Cases
Thursday, February 22, 2007 By: Kenny Rodriguez
In a move to avoid six months behind bars for two separate assault charges, Busta Rhymes is reportedly considering a judge’s deal that would allow him to remain free by pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault.
After he rejected an earlier offer of six months in jail for the two assault charges, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Tanya Kennedy said the 34-year-old rapper could now plead guilty to third-degree assault and receive a conditional discharge.
Busta, born Trevor Smith, is accused of beating Edward Hatchett, 39, his former driver, “with a closed fist about the head and neck” and kicking him in the ribs and torso during a dispute over back-pay.
The Dec. 26 attack outside of Busta’s lower Manhattan office left Hatchett with cuts, bruises and substantial pain, according to a court complaint.
In a second case, Busta is also charged with assaulting a fan, allegedly for spitting on his car on Aug. 12.
Busta is currently free on $3,500 bail, but if he accepts the judge’s offer and meets the conditions of the proposed sentence -- which would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures, and six months of anger management classes, and three years probation -- the charges would be dismissed in six months.
If he failed to meet the conditions of the sentence, or if he violated probation, he could go to jail for a year.
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