What's it gonna be for Busta Rhymes? Looks like a deal.
A New York judge has offered the "Gimme Some More" rapper a chance to escape jail if he cops to two misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a pair of 2006 incidents.
"Nothing was resolved, but there were some things that came out of it," Edison Alban, a spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, told E! Online.
Appearing alongside his attorney in Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday, Rhymes agreed to consider a proposal from Judge Tanya Kennedy: plead guilty to third-degree assault and receive a conditional discharge that would allow him to avoid doing time.
In exchange, the 34-year-old emcee would be sentenced to three years' probation. He would also have to complete 10 days of community service for the city, in addition to another four weeks of community service with a private organization, and attend six weeks of anger-management classes.
Should Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, fail to live up to the terms of the bargain, he could face a year behind bars.
Rhymes' lawyer, Scott Leemon, did not return calls seeking comment.
The two misdemeanor counts stem from separate assault complaints consolidated by Kennedy into one case at the request of prosecutors.
The first was lodged by a 19-year-old fan, who claimed he was roughed up by the hip-hopster last August (Rhymes was supposedly retaliating after the young man spit on the rapper's SUV). Prosecutors had initially filed assault and harassment counts against Rhymes and later tacked on a weapon-possession charge after police found a 10-inch knife in the vehicle.
The second allegation came for a Dec. 26 incident in which the Brooklyn-born performer was accused of beating up a 39-year-old who was reportedly a former driver for the rapper who said Rhymes owed him money.
Alban said that prosecutors originally recommended a six-month prison sentence for Rhymes if he pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree—a deal he and his lawyer rejected outright.
The entertainer, who has pleaded not guilty in both cases, will take about a month to consider the judge's offer. Should he accept and plead guilty to the top charges, all the other counts against him would be dropped. If he doesn't, then he will likely be tried on all charges.
"As far as we're concerned, [a trial] is still there unless he takes the deal," said Alban.
The next court date is scheduled for Mar. 26.