Hip-hop
artist Lil' Kim will go on trial in November…
TRIAL SET FOR NOVEMBER (25.04.04)
Hip-hop
artist Lil' Kim will go on trial in November on charges she lied to a grand jury
investigating a 2001 shootout involving members of her entourage outside a
Manhattan radio station, a federal judge says.
U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch said on Monday the trial would begin on
November 15 and would last until about December 6.
"Kim is not a criminal," her lawyer, Mel Sachs, told reporters after the
hearing. "These charges have been extracted out of context, magnified out of
proportion. She's been singled out and used because of who she is in the music
industry."
The diminutive Kim, wearing a black vest secured with a wide weight-lifter style
brown leather belt and large buckle, made no comment. (reuters)
NOT
GUILTY (15.04.04)
Lil' Kim pleaded not guilty at her arraignment hearing Wednesday, hours after
she was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, charges that could put
her away for more than 30 years. Accompanied by her attorney Mel Sachs, Kim
(real name: Kimberly Jones) entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra
C. Freeman in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York,
according to a spokesperson for the U.S attorney's office. She was released on
$500,000 bail.
"Kim has been unfairly targeted ...
and
unjustly charged because of who she is in the music industry," Sachs told
reporters as he and Kim left the courthouse. "I'm confident that her case will
be completely dismissed." Kim was demurely dressed in a black trench coat and
wore dark aviator sunglasses despite overcast skies and intermittent drizzle.
She ignored reporters as she headed into the car.
The charges stem from her alleged involvement in a February 2001 shooting
outside the offices of New York radio station Hot 97. Prosecutors claim she lied
to investigators and a grand jury by telling them she wasn't present at the time
of the shooting and that she didn't know at least one of the suspects involved
in the incident.
A pretrial hearing between Sachs and federal prosecutors is scheduled for
Friday. (mtv.com)
NO
HORSEPLAY FOR LIL KIM (03.05.04)
There’ll be no horsing around for Lil’ Kim. The controversial rapper was forced
to cancel an appearance at the Kentucky
Derby
this weekend because New York prosecutors wouldn’t let her leave the state, says
an insider. Lil’ Kim — whose real name is Kimberly Jones — is facing perjury
charges after allegedly witnessing a gunfight outside a New York City radio
station and lying to investigators about it. The singer’s lawyer has said he
expects the charges to be thrown out, “but we were told that prosecutors are
very, very serious about pursuing this case and pursuing it hard,” according to
the insider.
Lil’ Kim was scheduled to attend the famed horse race and some of the swank
parties surrounding it, and one insider said that the last minute cancellation
cost organizers thousands of dollars. “She can leave the state for paying
events, because she needs to make a living, but not for something like this,”
says the source. Lil’ Kim’s rep couldn’t be reached for comment.