Juvenile won a
victory in Duval County Court in Florida yesterday (Nov. 9), after the chart-topping
rapper was found not liable for injuring a Jacksonville police officer’s knee
during a scuffle at a local mall in 1999. Police
officer Mellisa Huxley-Bujeda filed a lawsuit against Juvenile in 2003, claiming
he was responsible for her knee injury, after an altercation and arrest at the
Regency Square Mall in July of 1999.The
New Orleans-based rapper and members of his entourage were in Jacksonville for
a show in 1999. The group stopped at the Regency Square Mall to do some last minute
shopping, when security guards asked them to leave for being in violation of the
mall’s dress code. According
to reports, members of his entourage were wearing various colored bandannas, which
in some areas signifies an affiliation with a gang. Some malls across the country
have instituted a similar policy, in order to keep gang bangers out. Juvenile
and his friends were allegedly also using profanity, another violation of the
mall’s rules. Security
guards called off-duty officer Mellisa Huxley-Bujeda to the scene to issue a trespassing
warning.When
Bujeda attempted to intervene a scuffle ensued. She claimed her knee was injured
when she attempted to control Juvenile during the fracas. At
one point, the two struggled on the ground as Bujeda attempted to handcuff the
rapper. Juvenile was eventually subdued, arrested and charged with breach of the
peace and resisting an officer with violence. The
charges were eventually dropped, but Bujeda filed a lawsuit, seeking almost $70,000
in medical bills as a result of subsequent surgeries.Yesterday,
the rapper’s attorneys called numerous witnesses to the stand, including an expert
who revealed that Bujeda had degenerative arthritis for years and had actually
injured her knees about 35 times as a child, through cheerleading, gymnastics
and other physical activities. "We
got them, we got them, we got them," Juvenile told Jacksonville’s Times-Union.
"Just the fact that it’s a rap artist against the police, that never happens.
Rappers never win. We never win against the police or the government…let this
be a lesson to all pedestrians out there. Targeting entertainers ain’t the quickest
way to get rich."Juvenile
said he has penned a new song about the trial titled "The Verdict" and
it may be a part of his new upcoming album. "I
got to benefit off this in some kind of way," Juvenile said.