Weeks after being charged with criminal weapons possession after leaving a recent concert, rapper Ja Rule has made another appearance in court.
The rapper, born Jeffrey Atkins, appeared in court yesterday (Aug. 9) with his lawyer Brian Neary to dispute a complaint brought on by Joel Tobia, a local contractor.
Tobia told the New Jersey Herald that Ja Rule did not pay him $8,000 after fixing a bad leak at the 31-year-old rapper’s $3.5 million Saddle River mansion.
“We put in 150 hours of manpower, which I gave to him for $13,000,” said Tobias, who added that he and six other men completed the job in three days. “He paid me $5,000 and wouldn’t pay me the rest. I don’t know why.”
Although “some work was done” Ja Rule’s lawyer Brian Neary argued that the actual amount owed was $4,000 and that “there was a dispute as to whether the work was done properly and whether money is owed.”
The hearing is the latest chapter involving Ja Rule and Tobia, who told the Herald that he already obtained a judgment in civil court for $8,000, after the rapper was a no show in court.
A criminal complaint was filed about a month ago by Tobia, that alleges that the 31-year-old rapper’s failure to pay him amounted to theft of services.
A hearing to determine whether there was probable cause for the complaint, which was originally set for Thursday, has been rescheduled for next week at Tobia’s request.
The case comes on the heels of Ja Rule’s arrest in July, after being pulled over by police for speeding after a concert.
Authorities charged the rapper with criminal weapons possession when they found a semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle.
Ja Rule is currently free on $150,000 bail on the charges.