New York — Rap impresario Sean "Puffy" Combs was acquitted Friday of toting an illegal handgun into a crowded Manhattan hip-hop club by a jury that believed the Grammy-winning multimillionaire's repeated claim of innocence. He was also cleared of a bribery charge.
Combs' bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, was acquitted of the same charges as Combs. Rapper Jamaal "Shyne" Barrow, a Combs protege who had been charged with attempted murder, was instead convicted of two counts of assault in connection with the shooting of two people in the club following a scuffle involving the Combs entourage in the early morning hours of Dec. 27, 1999.
It was a stunning victory for Combs, 31, who presides over a $300 million empire Bad Boy Entertainment that encompasses music, movies, clothing and restaurants. He founded the company just seven years ago.
The high-profile trial stretched nearly seven weeks, with jurors hearing from 59 witnesses and examining more than 130 pieces of evidence. Combs dressed in a conservative dark suit each day of the trial and his mother was in the gallery behind him.
Combs was the key defense witness, spending a full day testifying that he never carried a weapon on the night of his arrest and instead thought he was the target.
"I thought I was being shot at," Combs told the jury. He also denied offering his driver a $50,000 bribe if the man would take the gun possession rap for Combs. Prosecutors said the collateral Combs offered was a diamond pinkie ring given to him by ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, the top-selling singer-musician.
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