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Rapper Busta Rhymes to face four New York trials
07/10/2007 12:42 PM, Reuters
Grammy-nominated rapper Busta Rhymes
will face a string of trials for assault and driving violations
after prosecutors lost a bid on Tuesday to consolidate four
cases against the performer into one case.
Rhymes, 34, who has been arrested four times since last
summer, gave his defense attorney a celebratory "high five"
hand slap after Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Larry Stephen
rejected the prosecution's argument to combine the cases.
The separate cases will be tried consecutively, with an
opening date to be set at a September 5 hearing, the Manhattan
District Attorney's office said.
The judge gave no public explanation for his decision, and
the court papers have been ordered kept private and under seal
on grounds that they detail the defense strategy.
"The decision today validates the defense's argument," said
defense attorney Scott Leemon, who would not elaborate.
Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, was arrested most
recently on May 3 on suspicion of drunk driving.
Earlier this year, he was arrested for driving with a
suspended license, and on a separate occasion on suspicion of
assaulting his personal driver.
In August 2006 he was arrested for allegedly beating up a
man who reportedly spit on his car.
Also in court on Tuesday, Rhymes turned down, for a second
time, a plea deal that would have sent him to jail for one year
in exchange for a guilty plea to four misdemeanor charges
He turned down a similar deal at a hearing in May.
Wearing a beige suit and flanked by two bodyguards, Rhymes
kissed a courtroom sketch artist on the cheek before leaving
the Manhattan courtroom.
Smith has recorded hits such as "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in
Check," "Dangerous" and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could
See."
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