Alleged Dre Attacker Pleads Innocent

Tue., Jan. 11, 2005 10:30 AM PST by Josh Grossberg

For the guy who waylaid Dr. Dre and touched off a brawl at the Vibe Music Awards, it was time to face the music.

Jimmy James Johnson appeared before a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Monday and pleaded not guilty to an assault charge stemming from the incident.

Johnson, a 26-year-old parolee, was fingered by witnesses as the man who approached Dre for an autograph, then punched him several times in the face as the famed hip-hop producer was about to accept a lifetime achievement prize at the Nov. 16 ceremony.

The attack triggered pandemonium among the 1,000 people attending the show at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica Airport as Dre's bodyguards swarmed Johnson. During the ensuing chaos, one of Dre's prot?g?'s, G-Unit crew rapper Young Buck, allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed Johnson, who ended up being hospitalized with a punctured lung.

Johnson, who remains in custody on $1.4 million bail, is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 26, when a judge will set a date for a preliminary hearing, according to Los Angeles District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

An attorney for Johnson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. There's no word on what prompted the sucker-punch or whether the scuffle violated the conditions of his parole.

However, authorities have been probing a possible link between Johnson and rap boss Marion "Suge" Knight. Knight cofounded Death Row Records with Dre in the early '90s before the two had a falling out. Knight was also present at the Vibe Awards, which, investigators say, violated the terms of his probation. Dre had obtained a restraining order in 2001 against Knight, who arrived at the show sans invite and sat a few feet behind.

Knight has denied any involvement in the incident.

As for Young Buck, aka David Darnell Brown, he was arraigned late last month and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, Brown could face up to eight years in prison.

The slammer apparently is little more than a marketing tool if you're in the G-Unit crew. Young Buck's fellow members, 50 Cent and Tony Yayo, have both done time behind bars and rapped about their experiences growing up in the hood. They're among several rappers, including Eminem, whose careers have been mentored by Dre.