By Nolan Strong
A criminal lawsuit and a civil lawsuit against Hip-Hop mogul James “J” Prince will be thrown out of court, after the mogul was cleared of assault charges yesterday (July 9).
The Harris County District Attorney dropped the charges against Prince due to inconsistent statements from witnesses.
Prince was charged with a felony count of assault, after being accused of orchestrating an attack on Houston producer Ronnie Bookman, who owns the 7303 Recording studio.
“I always felt like they would be [dropped]...." Prince told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "It's definitely a blessing to have that confirmed."
Bookman claimed that rapper Bun B. recorded his vocals for his album Trill at a greatly reduced rate, in return for a verse from Bun B., that was to be featured on a release on 7303’s label's debut album.
Bookman alleged that Prince reneged on the deal and refused to clear Bun B.‘s vocals.
He claimed that he was savagely beaten during a meeting with Prince by seven men at Prince's Fresh Recreation Center Gym in Houston.
The assault left Bookman with a broken nose, and head and body injuries.
A judge is also expected to toss out Bookman’s $10 million dollar lawsuit against Prince, which accused the mogul of "attempting to eliminate competition in the Houston Rap and Hip-Hop music business through the use of threats, intimidation and violence."
Bookman also accused Prince of breach of contract, battery, unfair competition, duress, conspiracy and unjust enrichment.
In a previous interview with AllHipHop.com, Prince denied assaulting Bookman.
"That dude is a clown. He's always been a clown," Prince told AllHipHop.com. "He knows better than everybody why he got his ass whipped. For him to say I had anything to do with it, he's telling a lie, there's not a bit of truth in it."
Prince also claimed the whole ordeal was simply an extortion plot by a disgruntled business associate.
"If anyone with good sense would pull this guy Ronnie Bookman's record, they would see how bad his credibility stinks,” Prince said.