According to police,
friends of Fabolous were caught on camera snatching a $50,000 chain off the neck
of Boston Celtic basketball player Sebastian Telfair. The
same video also captured the gunman who shot the rapper fleeing the scene early
Tuesday (Oct. 17) in front of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Justin’s restaurant in New York.
According
to the New York Daily News, the surveillance footage captured one of Fabolous’
friends taking a $50,000 chain from Telfair, while another man watched. The
two men then went into Justin’s, where they allegedly joined Fabolous and other
friends. Telfair,
who hails from Coney Island, is captured on tape placing a call shortly after
being relieved of his chain. About 20 minutes later, a gunman squeezed off at
least 10 rounds in a nearby parking lot. Fabolous
was struck once in the thigh and while no shell casings were recovered, police
said the gunman was captured on surveillance footage leaving the scene in a gray
car.Fabolous,
born John Jackson, and three companions were placed in a police lineup on Tuesday,
but Telfair failed to identify the man who robbed him. Telfair,
who had a run in with the law last year, has denied any involvement in Fabolous’
shooting through his lawyer, Ed Hayes. "The
[security] tape completely supports everything my client said happened that night,"
Hayes told the New York Daily News. "He’s a lovely young man. It was outrageous
what these punks did, and he will press charges."On
Wednesday (Oct. 18) Fabolous and three men were charged with multiple weapons
violations, after police found two guns inside a secret front compartment in Fabolous’
2005 Dodge Magnum shortly after the rapper was shot. His
SUV was stopped for running a red-light shortly after he was shot, as his friends
attempted to rush him to a local hospital for his gunshot wound. Police
noticed the rapper was wounded and when they searched the vehicle, they recovered
two loaded guns – a .40 caliber and a .380 with a missing serial number."It’s
outrageous," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "They ride around
with illegal firearms, also defaced. It puts the public at great risk."Also
charged were Rascharm Davis, 29, Percell German, 23 and Kevin Bass, 18. Telfair
is expected to view images from the videotape today in an attempt to identify
the robber.In
Feb. of 2005 the NBA fined Telfair, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers
at the time, after a loaded gun was found in a pillowcase on the team plane. In
that incident, Telfair claimed the gun belonged to his girlfriend and that he
accidentally grabbed the wrong bag while preparing for a team game. The
gun was registered to Telfair’s girlfriend and no charges were filed.
