'Puffy' Verdict: Still Waiting

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday April 28, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

No verdict was reached on Thursday, the first full day of deliberating, in the gun possession and bribery trial of rap mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs. Jurors, however, twice asked to review evidence about the Dec. 27, 1999, shooting inside a Manhattan nightclub, reports The New York Times. Early in the day, jurors examined 19 photographs taken inside Club New York, as well as the shell casings found on the scene from a 9-millimeter handgun and .40-caliber weapon, says The Times. At 1:45 p.m., jurors asked to review testimony delivered by a police detective who investigated the crime scene. Defense attorney Murray Richman, who represents Combs protégé Jamal "Shyne" Barrow (who is charged with the shooting), told The Times that he thought the jurors' notes indicated that they were considering his argument that Barrow had fired in self-defense. The prosecution maintained that Barrow shot into the air at the club and injured three people. Meanwhile, Combs isn't letting jury deliberations stop him from having a good time. The rap mogul and his entourage hit the town Thursday night to see a concert by Grammy nominee Jill Scott and Carl Thomas at Radio City Music Hall, reports the Associated Press. At one point, Thomas, who is signed to Combs's Bad Boy record label, sang the gospel song "Trouble Don't Last Always," then said, "Puffy, trouble don't last always."