JUDGE RAINS ON SHYNE

Rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in the Dec. 27, 1999, shootings at Club New York that injured two people.

Just before sentencing, Shyne apologized to the victims. "I never meant to hurt nobody—I was afraid for my life," he told Judge Charles Solomon in a choked voice. "I'm [asking] for mercy [and for you] not to waste my life."

Shyne was convicted in March on two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession for the shootings.

The rapper admitted to firing a gun at Club New York, but maintained that he was acting in self-defense and that another gunman's bullets injured the two victims. He faced up to 25 years in prison.

Solomon told the packed courtroom that the sentencing decision was one of the most difficult he had ever faced. "It's a tragedy all around," he said. "This is a young man who had a promising future." The judge said that while he saw "a lot of good" in the 22-year-old rapper, he could not overlook the seriousness of his crime.

Solomon sentenced Shyne to 10 years in state prison on the first-degree assault charge, for shooting Natania Reuben in the face. Shyne was given four other concurrent sentences.

He will not be eligible for parole until he serves eight years and seven months — including the two months he's already served at Rikers Island — according to his lawyers and a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Corrections.

The aformentioned Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, who signed Shyne to Bad Boy Entertainment, was acquitted on all charges in the same trial.

"I know he had no intention of hurting anyone," Combs said in the statement following Shyne’s sentencing. "My prayers are with him and his family. I'm shocked by today's outcome. I will continue to support Shyne throughout his appeal."