Rapper Remy Ma was convicted of assault, weapons possession and coercion on Thursday, March 27 for shooting a woman in the abdomen in a dispute about money in New York, July last year.
- March 28, 2008
AceShowbiz -
Remy Ma was convicted Thursday, March 27 of shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub in July 2007. The rapper was convicted of assault, illegal weapon possession and attempted coercion, all of which put her under a maximum 25 years in prison.
The New York State Supreme Court jury cleared her of charges of gang assault, witness tampering, witness intimidation and assault in a separate incident in which her associates are accused of beating up the boyfriend of a witness. Ma was immediately taken into custody after the verdict was read, during when she quietly wiped away tears.
The judge denied a request from Ma's attorney to have the performer released on bail until her sentencing on April 23.
Ma fired a shot toward a childhood acquaintance, identified as Makeda Barnes Joseph, outside of a nightclub in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood on July 14, 2007 upon suspected that she had stolen $3,000 from her purse. She demanded that Makeda dumped the contents of her purse.
Makeda denied she had taken the rapper's money and refused to dump the contents of her purse. Both women were struggling over the bag when Ma's gun went off accidentally. Makeda, who was shot in the abdomen, testified that she underwent three operations during a three-week hospital stay.
Ma's lawyer, who called the shooting accidental and suggested Makeda was exaggerating the facts to win a large sum in a separate civil suit, plans to appeal the ruling.
