He’s off the hook.
The jurors in the highly publicized trial of rapper Sean “Puffy” Combs returned to court Friday morning to deliver the “not guilty” verdict. Combs clutched a Bible as the jury revealed that the rapper was indeed acquitted of charges of illegal possession of a handgun and bribery – charges that could have landed him in the Big House for 29 years.
Combs’ bodyguard, Anthony “Wolf” Jones, was also acquitted of identical charges.
However, Combs’ friend, rapper Jamaal “Shyne” Barrow, who had been charged with attempted murder, was convicted of two counts of assault for a shooting inside a New York nightclub the morning of Dec. 27, 1999.
According to the Associated Press, Combs’ attorney, Johnnie Cochran, told Combs: “You’ve got your life back. Good luck. Do the best with it.”
Combs, 31, was originally arrested after he fled a New York nightclub amidst gunfire with his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez. He was later charged with illegal possession of a weapon and bribery, the latter after offering his driver $50,000 to say the gun was his own.
