Victim Says Puffy, Shyne Had Guns
February 6 -- A woman told Manhattan, N.Y., Superior Court yesterday that she saw rapper Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs with a pistol shortly before she was shot in the face during a nightclub fight in December 1999.
Combs is being tried for illegal gun possession and bribery stemming from the incident, in which three people were shot.
The rap entrepreneur has denied the gun and bribery charges, but Natania Reuben, a beauty salon owner, was the second witness to claim to have seen him with a pistol during the incident. Tarnisha Smith, a 24-year-old nursing student, said on Friday that she saw Combs holding a gun as he ran from the nightclub.
Choking back tears, Reuben testified on Monday that she was struck by one bullet in the incident at Club New York in Times Square.
She said she first saw Combs' co-defendant, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, who is charged with attempted murder, pull out a gun.
"I heard 'bam, bam' and saw the bright flash from the muzzle of both guns," she said, demonstrating the scene to the jury by raising both her arms.
When pressed by Combs' lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, about whether she was shot by Combs' gun, she replied, "I saw two guns out. I actually saw the gun in the air. But I don't know whose gun I was shot by.
"It was very surreal at that point, like Scooby-Doo," she said, referring to the children's cartoon.
"I was numb. People started running and knocked me over," she said through tears. "I put my hand to my face and there was blood. … I was sick to my stomach. … It was crazy."
Two others were also injured in the shooting, but Reuben was the most seriously hurt. She was hospitalized for five days and still has seven bullet fragments beneath the skin on her face that she said doctors have told her were too dangerous to remove.
Combs' bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, also is being tried on a gun possession charge.
After the shooting, Combs and his girlfriend, actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, drove away in his sport utility vehicle, which was stopped by police. Authorities found a loaded gun inside the vehicle.
