Just a week before his scheduled duet with Elton John at the Grammys, rapper Eminem struck a deal with prosecutors Wednesday and pleaded guilty to one of two felony charges stemming from a run-in last June, in which he allegedly pistol-whipped a man he caught kissing his wife.
The Grammy-nominated rapper, dressed in a suit, appeared in Macomb County, Michigan, Circuit Court Wednesday morning and accepted an offer by prosecutors to drop a felony assault charge in exchange for pleading guilty to the more serious, five-year felony offense--carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
Judge Anthony Viviano ordered Eminem to return to court April 10 for sentencing. Although prosecutors previously said the offense would warrant jail time, the trash-talking rapper (better known in these parts as Marshall Mathers III) could face a sentence as minimal as a fine and/or probation, or as extreme as 60 months in state prison.
"I think it's a fair resolution of the matter," says David Portuesi, assistant prosecuting attorney for Macomb County.
The 28-year-old rapper was arrested June 4 after he allegedly pistol-whipped John Guerra, whom the rapper purportedly saw locked in an "intimate kiss" with his wife, Kimberly Mathers, outside the Hot Rocks Cafe in Warren, Michigan. According to prosecutors, the Grammy nominee hit Guerra over the head with an unloaded, 9mm semi-automatic. (At the time, Eminem did not have a concealed-weapon permit, but he was just one gun-safety course away from receiving one.)
In a brief statement, Em's lawyers said they're hoping to keep the rapper from doing any jail time. "Mathers' attorneys will request a sentence of straight probation, and Marshall is looking forward to putting this matter behind him," said Dennis Dennehy, spokesman for Eminem's label, Interscope.
Eminem has been working to put quite a bit behind him these days. The incident last June sparked a nearly unrelenting wave of criminal trouble and legal entanglements for the acid-tongued hip-hopster. One month after his run-in, Eminem's wife attempted suicide at their Sterling Heights home, and in August, the rapper filed for divorce.
Kimberly Mathers promptly fired back with her own suit, seeking $10 million in damages and claiming emotional distress caused by Eminem's spousal-killing tunes like "Kim."
But their bitter feud was soon patched up, and in December, the quarreling pair reconciled and agreed to move back in together with their five-year-old daughter.
As for sentencing, Portuesi says Eminem's case will be sent to the county's probation department, which will then make a recommendation to Judge Viviano. But because this is Em's first offense, the maximum is highly unlikely.
"It's up to the judge, ultimately," Portuesi says. "He could just impose a fine. What is more typical is probation anywhere from a year to two years. I expect Marshall Mathers is going to score on the lower end."
Already, Eminem's plea has sparked criticism from a lawyer representing the alleged pistol-whippee, John Guerra, who is suing the rapper for $25,000 following the run-in. John J. Gaber says his client was never consulted by prosecutors when they offered to drop the felony assault charge.
"[Eminem] walks into a court with two or three attorneys; maybe the prosecutors are impressed with that," he says. "Through maneuvering, they just have possession of a concealed weapon without a license. That's a violation of the law without a victim...and the prosecutors are going along with this? And you tell me why."
Meanwhile, Eminem still faces charges in Oakland County, Michigan, from another scuffle during that same weekend last June. He faces a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon and a misdemeanor count of brandishing a handgun, after Eminem allegedly pulled a gun during an argument outside a stereo shop with an associate of the rival Detroit group, Insane Clown Posse.
Portuesi says that because Eminem has not been convicted of those charges, it likely will not affect his sentencing.