NEW YORK — Rapper Busta Rhymes was sentenced to three years' probation and 10 days of community service for assaulting his former driver and a fan, a Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday.
The 35-year-old music artist also plead guilty to driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license, and was ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, attend drunk driving awareness classes, and had his license revoked for an additional six months.
Rhymes, who real name is Trevor Smith, pleaded guilty to the charges, which related to four separate incidents, in Manhattan Criminal Court.
The two assault charges stem from incidents where he allegedly beat his former limo driver and a separate alleged beating of a fan on a New York street corner.
Rhymes had previously vowed to fight the charges, but the rapper's attorney, Scott Leemon, tells MTV that the difference between the plea deal the rapper rejected last summer — which would have landed him in jail for a year — and the one he accepted on Wednesday was simple.
"It was the difference in the court offer," he said. "The judge evaluated the injuries in the case and the allegations and agreed with us that a non-custodial sentence was appropriate."
Asked how the rapper felt about the plea deal, Leemon said he was, "happy to finally put this behind him. It's been a tough year and half for him and he wants to look at the future and get back to what people enjoy, entertaining them."
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