Combs Case to Jury Tuesday

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/15/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

The gun possession and bribery trial of rap mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs is expected to go to the jury this Tuesday. Combs, who heads a reputed $300-million-plus entertainment empire, has been on trial in New York State Supreme Court for seven weeks in the wake of a Dec. 1999 Times Square nightclub shooting that left three people injured. Prosecutors allege that Combs accidentally jostled another patron and that that led to a conflict in which one of Combs's associates, rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, opened fire in the crowded club. If convicted, Combs could face 15 years in prison.