Shyne's Lawyer Admits He Had Gun

N E W  Y O R K, March 12 -- A defense lawyer today admitted for the first time that Jamal "Shyne" Barrow fired a gun but maintained it was in self-defense, while the lawyer for Sean "Puffy" Combs told the jury the rap mogul is being framed by "bad people" who want a chunk of his bank account.

Lawyers for Combs, Barrow and co-defendant Anthony "Wolf" Jones presented their closing arguments today, with Comb's team claiming that several prosecution witnesses lied because they hoped to profit from a Dec. 27, 1999, nightclub shooting that left three people wounded.

"Bad people came into this courtroom and made bad accusationsbecause they wanted to get rich," said Combs' attorney Benjamin Brafman, according to The Associated Press.

Key Questions

Brafman said out of the 50 witnesses who testified, only two said they saw Combs with a gun in his hand — shooting victims Natania Reuben and Julius Jones, who each have separate civil lawsuits against the star hip-hop producer, who founded Bad Boy Records and has his own Sean John clothing line.

Combs, 31, and bodyguard Jones, 34, are charged with gun possession and bribery stemming from the shooting, which followed an argument in Manhattan's Club New York. Barrow, 21, Combs' rap protégé, is charged with attempted murder and assault.

If convicted, Combs would face up to 15 years in prison. Barrow could be sentenced to 25 years. Prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos is expected to give his closing arguments Tuesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

As Combs, Jones and Barrow's defense laid the case out for the jury, they focused on several key issues:

Was Barrow’s gun the only weapon that wounded the three patrons that night? Barrow’s lawyer, Ian Niles, told jurors this morning that his client sought to protect himself after another patron fired the initial shot.

"This was an incident precipitated by 'Scar,'" said Niles, referring to Matthew "Scar" Allen, who allegedly argued with Combs before the shooting erupted. Niles alleges "Scar" was verbally threatening Barrow's life when someone in his group fired the first shot, and then Barrow fired two shots into the air.