'Puffy' Trial: The PEOPLE Report

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/12/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Monday morning's session of the defense portion of the trial of rap mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs brought Club New York security employee Cherise Myers to the stand, where she testified that Combs did not fire a gun, because he fell to the floor with her when they both heard shots ring out in the nightspot, reports PEOPLE. Myers said she was with Combs in the front of the club on Dec. 27, 1999, when another patron picked an argument with Combs and threw money at him. She then saw Jamal Barrow step out of the crowd, scream "a bad obscenity" and, she said, "I saw him (Barrow) firing a gun. It appeared to be one or two shots." After that, she and Combs "went down to the floor," she testified. "I fell on top of Mr. Combs. Other people fell on top of me." She admitted to being "scared. He (Combs) appeared to be frightened also . . . His face just looked shocked." Myers's testimony corroborated the defense's argument that Combs did not fire a gun. "His hands were on the floor," she said. Three people were injured by the gunfire, and Combs, 31, his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, 34, and Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, 21, are now on trial in connection with the shooting. Combs and Jones are charged with gun possession. Combs is also charged with allegedly trying to bribe his driver into claiming ownership for the gun found in the SUV. Barrow is charged with attempted murder.

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