Foxy Brown appeared
in a Broward County court today (Mar. 28) and pleaded not guilty to two charges
stemming from an altercation with the owner of a beauty supply store in Pembroke
Pines, FL. Her
hearing was scheduled for 9:00 am, but was rescheduled until 1: 30 pm, because
her plane was late.Brown,
born Inga Marchand, was charged with resisting an officer without violence and
simple battery on Feb. 15.
Sam Hayssam, owner of Queens Beauty Shop, became embroiled in a dispute with Brown,
who was using beauty products in the store’s bathroom. When
he told her that the store was closing, Brown allegedly refused to leave the store,
went into a rage and allegedly threw hair glue and spat on him.Hayssam
called 911 and when police responded to the call, Brown allegedly struggled with
a police officer, who wrestled her to the ground and arrested her. She
was released the next day on $1,500 bond.An
an arrest warrant was issued for Brown on Mar. 22, after she missed a scheduled
court date in Fort Lauderdale.Today,
lawyers for the rapper said her absence was not intentional, as the arraignment
notice was mailed to her old residence in New Jersey, as opposed to her current
residence in Brooklyn, NY. While
Brown remained silent in court, outside of the courtroom, Brown told local reporters
that she would "stand up and fight and take care of this."On
Mar. 1, Brown pleaded guilty to violating the terms of her probation, because
she was in Florida without permission from her probation officer, in direct violation
of the terms of her current probation. Brown,
born Inga Marchand, was sentenced to probation in Oct. 2006 for assaulting two
Manhattan nail salon employees, over a $20 manicure in Aug. 2004.Manhattan
Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson allowed Brown to continue the existing terms
of her probation, but warned her that if any other infractions occur, she could
be sent to prison for an entire year. Brown
will stand trial for the incident in Pembroke Pines in June. She
addressed the charges during a press conference held at Brown Memorial Baptist
Church in Brooklyn on Feb. 26. Brown
said that the only crime she committed was "being a young black female celebrity
in Broward County" and claimed Hayssam was attempting to cash in on her celebrity
status. "I
am the victim of an overzealous police department who engaged in police brutality
and a money hungry store owner whose motives are for me to pay his mortgage on
his house and his children’s tuition," Brown said.
