Flesh-N-Bone gets 12 year sentence

Unless Flesh-N-Bone starts rapping from prison phones, don't hold your breath waiting for the next Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album....

In what puts a huge question mark on the future of the Cleveland-based group, the troubled rapper otherwise known as Stanley Howse was sentenced Friday to 12 years in California state prison, following an armed assault last December in which he pulled an AK-47 from a baby crib and pointed it at one of his friends.

Howse, the 27-year-old founder of the Grammy-winning group, was convicted in June of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and being an ex-convict in possession of a gun. Howse faced up to 19 years in prison, but Van Nuys, California, Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp opted for a lesser sentence after reviewing his record. "This is one of the worst cases I've read in terms of childhood abuse," Schempp said.

Howse apparently had predicted his own fate--having posed for his latest publicity photos from behind bars. But in a statement to the judge, Howse said, "I am very sorry for my wrongdoings and accept responsibility for these crimes. "I understand that the nature of these crimes makes me appear to be a violent person but I am not a violent person," he added. "I have never hurt anyone--the only person I have harmed is myself. Everyone who knows my true character understands that I am a good person who gets along with everyone."

Prosecutors said that on December 26, Howse pulled a gun from a baby crib and pointed it at Tarrance Vickers, telling him to "get the hell out of my apartment." Vickers' brother, Fred Nelson, testified that the rapper pulled the gun during a fight.

But Howse's lawyer initially claimed the story was fabricated by Vickers and his brother after they attacked him. His lawyer, Jonathan Kissell, wanted a 10-year sentence for Howse, telling Judge Schempp, "Mr. Howse suffered horrendous childhood trauma, beatings, concussions...which have greatly affected the way he functions in society," he said. "He loves guns, and that's something that bothers the court, bothers society and bothers himself."

Howse's wife, Chasitie, later told reporters her husband did not deserve the sentence. "He's done a lot for the community," she said. "Everyone [doesn't] come from a perfect life. We're all hurting from this."

Judge Schempp gave Howse a 10-year sentence for the conviction, and another year for violating his probation in 1998. In February of that year, Howse pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, after he got into a scuffle with his Chatsworth, California, neighbor.

He was sentenced to community service, anger-management classes and counseling as part of his three-year probation. Schempp also recommended that Howse do the time at the Vacaville Mental Facility in Northern California, but state prison officials will make the final decision.

The rapper still faces a two-year prison term when he returns to court October 24, but any sentence he receives will likely be served concurrently. Howse pleaded no contest to one charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, after police reportedly caught him with a sawed-off shotgun while they were answering a disturbance call at a relative's house in South Los Angeles in January.

Friday's sentencing certainly puts a crimp in any future plans for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The group, which created a unique, quick-rhyming style, first sprouted onto the hip-hop scene as proteges of late rapper Eazy-E. Bone Thugs won a Grammy in 1997 for best rap performance by a duo or group for their single, "Tha Crossroads," and in February, the rappers released their latest album, BTNHResurrection, which went platinum.

Meanwhile, Flesh-N-Bone's sentencing comes just as Koch Records prepares to release his new solo album, 5th Dog Let Loose, which hits stores October 10. Howse finished the album earlier this year, before he was incarcerated.

Said Howse's lawyer in a statement: "While this may appear to be a lengthy sentence, it will not serve as a life sentence. Stanley will continue to write music interact with people in the music industry."