Busta Rhymes goes free in assault case

FALL RIVER, Mass., March 24 (UPI) -- Hip-hop star Busta Rhymes has worked out a deal in the case of a Massachusetts woman who claimed he grabbed and threatened her, it was reported Wednesday.

Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith Jr., admitted Tuesday to sufficient facts to avoid a trial in a Fall Rivers, Mass., court, the Boston Herald said.

Rhymes, who is on probation for a 1999 gun charge in New York, was accused of assaulting Celine Giguere after a Dec. 7, 2002, performance at Jake's Twin Saloons in Fall River.

Giguere, 22, of Providence, Mass., told police Rhymes grabbed her by the hair and threatened to kill her after she touched his face.

The rapper said he acted "to prevent her from touching me again."

"I grabbed her hand and told her, 'Please make sure you don't touch me again,'" Rhymes said.

Rhymes, who paid $350 in court costs and was ordered to stay away from Giguere, will be cleared of the assault and battery charges in six months if he stays out of trouble.