Rapper arrested and charged with second-degree assault

Portia Arthur

August 6, 2015 9:19 AM

In 2006, Busta Rhymes was arrested four times in 10 months

Busta Rhymes

Rapper, Busta Rhymes was arrested and charged with assault after he threw a protein drink at a worker at a Chelsea gym Wednesday night, cops said.

The 43-year-old Brooklyn native, whose real name is Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr., chucked the cardboard Lean Body protein drink container during a dispute with the employee at the Steel Gym on W. 23 St. near Sixth Ave. around 8:30 p.m., police said.

The bottle hit the worker in the back of the head, according to cops. The employee was not seriously injured.

Several witnesses said the two had been at odds in the past and questioned why Busta was busted.

One bodybuilder said that a front desk employee got into a beef with Busta Tuesday when the rapper tried to bring a cameraman into the gym to record his workout routine. The worker refused to allow the videographer inside.

When Rhymes returned to the workout facility Wednesday he approached the desk to buy a water and a chocolate-flavored Lean Body drink and the employee told him he had to leave.

“Things got heated. Busta splashed water on him and the employee threw water back. Busta’s security got between them,” said Sean Aird, 23, a bodybuilder from Brooklyn. "The cops came and (the employee) kept changing his story."

Others at the popular weightlifting spot agreed.

Another witness, an employee at the gym, confirmed that there had been bad blood between the two in the past.

“This has been going on for a long time,” the employee told The News.

The Red Hook-born “Gimme Some More” rapper was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree assault, cops said.

“He was provoked,” Aird told the Daily News. “Busta never had any physical contact with him whatsoever.”

Rhymes is no stranger to the NYPD. In 2006, he was arrested four times in 10 months: Once for assaulting a fan who spit on his car, once for assaulting his driver and twice for incidents behind the wheel.

“It’s stupid,” Rhymes said after being released by a judge early Thursday.

“It’s ridiculous, it was literally a bottle of Muscle Milk," a lawyer representing the musician said.

Rhymes is due back in court Nov. 6

The rapper’s lawyer was confident his client would beat the charges.

“This is clearly an attempt by someone to take advantage of Busta. He did nothing wrong,” lawyer, Scott Leemon told The News. “This is a bunch of bull.”

Source: Daily News

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Portia Arthur