Busta Rhymes has been arrested four times in 10 months, most recently on May 3 on suspicion of drunken driving. He also faces two charges for assault and one for driving with a suspended license.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Grammy-nominated rapper Busta Rhymes turned down a plea deal Tuesday that would have sent him to jail for one year, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.
Rhymes has been arrested four times in 10 months, most recently on May 3 on suspicion of drunken driving. He also faces two charges for assault and one for driving with a suspended license.
In exchange for pleading guilty, Rhymes would have served one year for the assault charges, been fined $1,500 and forced to participate in an anti-drunk driving program, said Edison Alban, a spokesman for the DA's office.
Rhymes' lawyer, Scott Leemon, said he had presented the rapper's defense to the assault charges in court papers filed Tuesday under seal. Leemon also objected to the four charges being grouped together, he said.
"Busta does have a defense in these cases," Leemon said, though he declined to elaborate.
Leemon has been quoted in press reports as calling Rhymes' arrests "payback" for refusing to cooperate in an investigation into the fatal 2006 shooting of Rhymes' former bodyguard, Israel Ramirez. The case remains unsolved.
The next court date was set for July 10, the DA's office said.
Rhymes, 34, whose real name is Trevor Smith, was pulled over shortly after midnight on May 3 in midtown Manhattan while driving a large sport-utility vehicle, which police said had "excessively tinted windows."
Rhymes had a "strong odor of alcohol on his breath," a police spokeswoman said.
In February, the rapper was arrested for driving with a suspended license and in 2006 he was arrested in January and August on separate assault charges.
Rhymes was a founder of the influential Leaders of the New School in the early 1990s and as a solo artist has recorded hits such as "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" and "Dangerous."
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