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BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Rap artist Afroman was given a suspended six-month jail sentence Thursday, fined $330 and ordered to undergo anger management and impulse behavior counseling for punching a woman who jumped on a stage during a concert earlier this year.
The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1hEIhuI) Municipal Court Judge William Tisdale sentenced Afroman, whose real name is Joseph Edgar Foreman, on a guilty plea to simple assault. The incident happened on Feb. 17, Mardi Gras night.
The 40-year-old rapper apologized on his Facebook page and later told TMZ that two women had been dancing on stage and a man had been heckling him throughout the show. He said he thought they had left the stage, and when someone bumped him, he thought it was the man.
"We cannot untangle the circus that brought us to this moment, but Kress Live did not live up to its legal obligations to provide adequate security for its entertainers and customers," said Rufus Alldredge, the judge's attorney, to whom the city court clerk had referred the Sun Herald for comment.
"That place was a free-for all."
WLOX-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1hEIwpP) the woman who was hit in the face, Haley Byrd, is breathing a sigh of relief after Thursday's court action. It's been almost six months since she was knocked off her feet during the performance. She was later diagnosed with a concussion.
Her attorney, Tim Holleman, said they not only filed a suit against the rapper but the next step will be to file one against Kress Live.
"We've gotten information that they had some issues with their security, and that's going to be a question for them," Holleman said.
A co-owner of the music venue has said the club had 12 to 15 private security guards on duty for a crowd of 500.
Afroman rose to fame in 2000 with his hit, "Because I Got High."
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Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com
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