After vowing to fight, Busta Rhymes copped a plea to a number of charges in a New York courtroom on Wednesday and was ordered by a judge to serve three years probation. Rhymes (born Trevor Smith) pleaded guilty to four charges, including two assault charges and a DUI, according to his lawyer.
He's plea on the two assault charges stem from incidents involving an alleged beating of his former limo driver and a separate alleged beating of a fan on a New York street corner; the judge gave Rhymes a sentence of three years probation for those charges. Busta will face a year in jail if he violates the terms of his probation, and an order of protection was reportedly issued for the alleged victims of his assaults. He was also sentenced to 10 days of community service.
Leemon said the difference between the plea deal the rapper rejected last summer — which would have landed him in jail for a year — and the one he accepted on Wednesday was simple. "It was the difference in the court offer," he said. "The judge evaluated the injuries in the case and the allegations and agreed with us that a non-custodial sentence was appropriate." Asked how the rapper felt about the plea deal, Leemon said he was, "happy to finally put this behind him. It's been a tough year and half for him and he wants to look at the future and get back to what people enjoy, entertaining them."
Rhymes was also ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, plus court costs and enroll in a drunk-driving education program as part of his plea in the DUI case, and will have to give up his driver's license for six months as a result of his plea on a charge of driving on a suspended license.
He's plea on the two assault charges stem from incidents involving an alleged beating of his former limo driver and a separate alleged beating of a fan on a New York street corner; the judge gave Rhymes a sentence of three years probation for those charges. Busta will face a year in jail if he violates the terms of his probation, and an order of protection was reportedly issued for the alleged victims of his assaults. He was also sentenced to 10 days of community service.
Leemon said the difference between the plea deal the rapper rejected last summer — which would have landed him in jail for a year — and the one he accepted on Wednesday was simple. "It was the difference in the court offer," he said. "The judge evaluated the injuries in the case and the allegations and agreed with us that a non-custodial sentence was appropriate." Asked how the rapper felt about the plea deal, Leemon said he was, "happy to finally put this behind him. It's been a tough year and half for him and he wants to look at the future and get back to what people enjoy, entertaining them."
Rhymes was also ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, plus court costs and enroll in a drunk-driving education program as part of his plea in the DUI case, and will have to give up his driver's license for six months as a result of his plea on a charge of driving on a suspended license.