Kanye West Makes Not-Guilty Plea In Paparazzi Case, Faces 2 Years In Prison

Music producer and hip hop artist Kanye West, 31, who has been making headlines for his activities with girlfriend Amber Rose is back in the headlines again, but not for his relationship. Kanye West is back in the entertainment headlines for his infamous paparazzi case in which he has made a plea of not guilty. The incident occurred on last year (September 11, 2008) at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

As previously reported on www.HipHopRX.com, Kayne West was in an altercation with paparazzi in which a photographer made claims that Kanye West along with his road manager Don “Don C” Crowley allegedly broke a camera worth more than $10,000 which was caught on video. The two men were approached by paparazzi affiliated with celebrity gossip site TMZ while they were at the airport to catch a flight to Hawaii.

Kanye West was charged with misdemeanor vandalism, battery and grand theft, while his road manager was charged with two counts on the same charges.

If charged in the incident, Kanye West could face up to two and a half years in prison, while Don “Don C” Crowley could face up to five years in prison if convicted on the charges.

This is not the first incident in which Kayne West has been in with paparazzi. On November of ’08, the rapper/music producer denied assaulting a photographer in an incident outside of the Tup Tup nightspot in Newcastle, England which led to the rapper getting arrested for his second paparazzi-related incident. Kanye West cited that he placed his arm up in self-defense against a thirsty photographer and put his hands up to cover his lens which unfortunately somehow resulted in the photographer getting his nose scraped during all the commotion.

The next court date has been scheduled for July 15, 2009 more than a month after Kanye West’s upcoming birthday June 8th.