Tony Yayo says witness clears him in teen assault case

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http://www.hiphopgame.com/news.php3?id=1836

A lawyer for G-Unit memeber Tony Yayo told a judge Thursday he has a witness who swears Yayo is innocent of slapping and punching a rival's 14-year-old son.


Lawyer Scott Leemon said the witness, whose name he withheld, gave him a sworn statement saying he knows the teen and Yayo and saying the boy was hit by another man, as yet unidentified.


Yayo, whose real name is Marvin Bernard, was charged in March with assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, all misdemeanours. He was accused of hitting James Rosemond, the son of Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, recording executive and manager of a rival rapper, The Game.


The boy accused Yayo of hitting him with his hand, "causing (his) face to strike the door of a building," which caused him "to have a headache, an earache, and caused substantial pain to (his) face," according to a misdemeanour court complaint.


Yayo, 29, has pleaded not guilty and is free on $5,000 bail. He has "adamantly rejected" prosecutors' offer of nine months in jail for a guilty plea.


"The witness clearly vindicates my client," Leemon said outside court.


The judge, told that detectives had not interviewed Leemon's witness, suggested that prosecutors speak to the person as soon as practicable.


The judge estimated the case would go to trial in December.