Jury Clears Puffy Combs in New York Shooting Case
by Jeanne King
NEW YORK - Hip hop star Sean ``Puffy'' Combs was cleared on Friday of criminal charges in a highly publicized case stemming from a 1999 nightclub shooting that left three people wounded.
As the jury forewoman read the verdicts after two-and-a-half days of deliberations, Combs, a Bible in hand, lowered his head and his two defense attorneys grabbed him in a bear hug.
The jury did find Combs' associate Jamaal ``Shyne'' Barrow, who admitted firing his gun in the nightclub, guilty of assault and reckless endangerment, while Combs' bodyguard Anthony ''Wolf'' Jones was cleared, like Combs, of bribery and gun possession.
Combs, one of the biggest names in the rap industry, said outside the courthouse he was thankful and filled with emotion after facing charges that could have led to 15 years in prison.
``I just want to thank God for just being there for me and protecting me, and all the people, all my fans, my staff, all the people in New York, everybody who prayed for me all over the world,'' he said, visibly moved, as his mother smiled broadly.
``Thank you for your prayers and giving me support and the people in New York that when I'm walking in the street were telling me 'keep my head up,''' Combs said.
``I'm just so grateful,'' he said over and over. ``I'm just very emotional. I feel very blessed.''
Before leaving, he shook hands with several supporters who chanted ``not guilty, not guilty.''
The jury in state Supreme Court in Manhattan found him innocent of charges of bribery and illegal gun possession in the case stemming from the Dec. 27, 1999 shooting in Club New York.
Prosecutors alleged Combs jostled another patron, sparking a dispute that prompted Barrow, 21, to open fire.
Tears rolled down Barrow's cheeks as the jury forewoman announced the guilty verdicts.
Barrow was remanded to jail, and he faces a possible five to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 16.
After Combs left the courthouse, the supporters changed their chant to ``free Shyne, free Shyne.''
Bodyguard Thanks Attorney
As Jones heard his not guilty verdicts, he leaned to his attorney Michael Bachner and said softly, ``Thank you for saving my life,'' the lawyer recounted later
Jones also turned to Barrow and said: ``It's not the right thing. It's not the right thing.''
Prosecutors said following the shooting, Combs and his entourage, including actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, fled in a vehicle that police stopped after a chase of several blocks.
Police found a gun in the car, and Combs was accused of trying to bribe his driver to claim ownership of the weapon.
Lopez was not charged in the case, and neither the defense nor the prosecution asked her to testify.
Following the verdict, Combs' attorney Johnnie Cochran said he felt it was wise not to call Lopez, who was Combs' girlfriend at the time of incident, to the stand.
``I think we made the right decision not calling Jennifer, and it was on Sean's back,'' said Cochran. ``He did the right thing. He testified. He withstood the cross-examination and he prevailed.''
Fans Boo Prosecutor
As prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos walked back to his office after the verdict, amid a course of boos from Combs' supporters, he did not comment.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau issued a statement saying as a rule he does not comment on jury verdicts.
``The jury has rendered its verdict, and we accept it,'' he said.
The jurors were driven away in a bus and did not immediately speak to reporters. Before they were dismissed, Judge Charles Solomon said he ``strongly'' urged them not to discuss the case.
In reaching its verdict, the jury appeared to reject the testimony of the prosecution's star witness, Combs' driver, Wardell Fenderson, who said he saw the rapper with a gun.
Fenderson also claimed Combs and Jones offered him $50,000 to take the rap for the gun. He initially told police the gun was his but changed his mind at the police station.
Combs' defense argued the entertainer was the victim of people seeking to profit from his fame and fortune.
Damages sought in various lawsuits against Combs stemming from the incident totaled more than $1 billion.
Among those filing lawsuits are Fenderson as well as the three people wounded in the shooting -- Natanya Reubens, who still has lead fragments lodged in her head, and Robert Thompson and Julius Jones, both of whom were shot in the shoulder.
Combs began his hugely successful career as a producer and promoter by helping create albums by such stars as Mary J. Blige and the Notorious B.I.G.
He won a Grammy for his ``I'll Be Missing You'' in 1997.
Most recently, he has broken into the apparel world with his Sean John line of edgy, urban menswear.
He produced a Sean John fashion show in New York last month, attending court by day and designing the show at night. |
