Busta Rhymes rejected a plea deal today (May 8) that would have sent him to jail for one year.
The Grammy-nominated rapper would have served a year in prison for two assault charges, been fined $1,500 and been forced to participate in an anti drunk-driving programme in exchange for pleading guilty.
Rhymes has been arrested four times in the past 10 months, most recently on May 3 when he was pulled over in Manhattan for suspected drunken driving, as previously reported.
He faces two additional charges for assault and one for driving with a suspended license.
Rhymes' lawyer, Scott Leemon, has been quoted as saying that Rhymes' arrests were "payback" for refusing to cooperate in the investigation into the fatal 2006 shooting of Rhymes' former bodyguard, Israel Ramirez. The case has not been solved.
--By our Los Angeles staff.
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