Young Buck pleaded
no contest to a felony charge stemming from an assault that took place at last
year’s Vibe Awards at the Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hanger.
Young Buck, born David Darnell Brown, had his charges reduced
from assault with a deadly weapon and pleaded no contest to a charge of assault
with a chance to produce bodily injury.
Judge James Brandlin, also sentenced the rapper to three years
probation and 80 hours worth of community service for his role in the melee,
which started when a man attending the awards show punched Dr. Dre as he was
receiving Vibe’s Legend Award.
An arrest warrant was issued shortly after the incident, when
police identified Young Buck on a videotape stabbing Jimmy James Johnson, the
man who struck Dr. Dre.
Johnson was also charged in the attack and in Sept., he pleaded
guilty to a felony assault charge and was sentenced to one year in jail.
Young Buck’s attorney said that the charges were reduced
because DNA evidence from a knife found at the scene contained DNA from sweat
that did not match the rappers’ blood.
A videotaped, which proved Buck was wielding a fork –
and not a knife – also helped the rapper gain a lighter sentence for his
role in the altercation.
Young Buck will appear in court again on Jan. 26 in New York,
to face felony gun possession charges, which he has pled not guilty to.
Those charges stem
from an incident an arrest outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, when
police found a gun on the floor of the van Young Buck and Lloyd Banks were passengers
in.