SCAR, PUFFY LAWYERS TRADE MURDER PLOT STORIES
You Got Chocolate In My Peanut Butter!
Prosecutors said Allen (who has the scarier nickname of the two men), believed Combs was plotting to kill him, while the defense maintained that Allen wanted to kill Combs.
It was an altercation between Combs and Allen at the Club New York in December 1999 that sparked the gunplay that left three people wounded. Combs was acquitted on all charges against him, while protege Jamaal "Shyne" Barrow was convicted of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession (hitsdailydouble.com, 3/16). Barrow will be sentenced on April 16 and could face up to 25 years in prison.
During the little legal confab, Combs' lawyer Benjamin Brafman said that Combs had received a telephone threat at his office from someone who "gave us detailed information concerning a contract on Mr. Combs' life." Brafman also said court officers had heard a man with a walkie-talkie describe Combs' car and security precautions. He said the caller identified the man at the courthouse as an acquaintance of Allen's.
On the other hand, prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos said Allen learned from one of Combs' employees that the rapper planned to kill him. Bogdanos said Allen refused to testify because he feared his relatives would be in danger.
Brafman denied Combs schemed to kill Allen—yeah, like you'd tell your attorney about that.
The March 14 conference was held out of the jury's presence and the record was sealed (at Brafman's request) until after the verdict.
