Remy Ma - Judge rejects bid to hike rapper's bail 

By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer - Sept. 13, 2007

NEW YORK - Remy Ma, free on $250,000 bond after being accused of shooting an acquaintance, doesn't have to post more bail money despite more problems with the law. 

A judge said Wednesday she was denying a prosecutor's request to hike the rapper's bail following a new indictment on witness tampering and gang assault charges. The judge said she could change her mind later.

The new charges stem from an Aug. 19 assault on a witness' boyfriend in a Bronx nightclub. Remy, 26, is accused of causing several of her male friends to attack the man, blackening an eye and breaking a bone in his face.

The assault followed an exchange in which Remy told the man, "Your girlfriend is changing her (cell phone) number on me and people are taking the (witness) stand," Assistant District Attorney Jason Berland told the court.

Another man who was with the witness' boyfriend was beaten by the same group, Berland said.

Remy, whose real name is Remy Smith, is the only person charged in the nightclub beatdown, Berland said. The victims reported that they covered their faces to protect themselves and didn't see who hit them, he said.

The prosecutor said he was asking for an increase in bail because Remy may be a flight risk. Remy's lawyer, Ira Fisher, said the rapper will surrender her passport.

Remy has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, Fisher said.

Berland said the July 14 shooting occurred after Remy left a birthday party in Greenwich Village, claimed that $2,000 was missing from her purse, and accused Makeda Barnes-Joseph of taking the money.

Barnes-Joseph was shot twice in the abdomen, Berland said. She was hospitalized for 16 days.

Remy was nominated for a Grammy as part of the Terror Squad for the 2004 summer smash "Lean Back."

_______________________________

Remy Ma Smith

 [ Open Letter to Remy Ma Smith ]

Remy Ma - Rapper is convicted of assault 

3/27/08

NEW YORK - Grammy-nominated rapper Remy Ma was led out of a Manhattan courtroom Thursday, weeping and in handcuffs, after being convicted of shooting a woman outside a nightclub last summer. 

The defense had conceded that Remy Ma, whose real name is Remy Smith, fired a shot toward a friend she suspected of stealing $3,000, but said it was an accident.

Smith, 26, faces up to 25 years in prison following her conviction in state Supreme Court for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion.

She was nominated for a Grammy as part of the Terror Squad for the 2004 hit "Lean Back." She also has appeared on recordings with Busta Rhymes and Eminem.

Smith quietly wiped away tears as the verdict was read, then wailed loudly and sobbed openly after she was outside the courtroom. Many of her supporters also cried.

A few supporters of Makeda Barnes Joseph, the woman who was shot, cheered and wept when they heard the verdict. Some chanted "bye, bye" in an almost taunting singsong as Smith left the courtroom.

Justice Rena Uviller, denying a request by defense lawyer Ivan Fisher, ordered Smith jailed without bail while awaiting sentencing on April 23.

She was acquitted of witness tampering and gang assault, charges related to a nightclub attack in the New York City borough of the Bronx on the boyfriend of a witness who ultimately testified against her. A man who tried to help the boyfriend also was beaten.

Joseph was shot after a party at a nightclub in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood on July 14, 2007.

Assistant District Attorney Michael McIntosh said the defendant "took an illegal .45-caliber automatic and loaded it with hollow-point bullets," then used both hands to cock the weapon as she got into the car. "She took every step you had to take to shoot somebody," the prosecutor said.

The rapper demanded that Joseph dump the contents of her purse; Joseph denied she had taken the rapper's money and refused. Fisher said the gun went off accidentally as the women struggled over the bag.

Joseph, who was shot in the abdomen, testified that she underwent three operations during a three-week hospital stay.

"Remy's taking this very, very hard," Fisher said after the verdict. "She didn't anticipate this."

Fisher said he plans to appeal.

 [ Open Letter to Remy Ma Smith ]