Rapper Found Not Guilty by Jury

Jury members who heard four days of testimony and arguments took less than an hour yesterday to declare rapper Bryon "Bizzy Bone" McCane not guilty on charges of assault and disorderly conduct.

Afterward, jurors said they were left with many questions, including whether Columbus prosecutors should have charged others in the case.

McCane, 22, who resides in Worthington, is a soloist and member of the Grammy-winning group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

He was tried in Franklin County Municipal Court for allegedly scuffling with a student at a North Side barber college in September.

Testimony from both sides said barber student Terrance Harden, 26, was manhandled in a stairwell by two of McCane's bodyguards.

Harden suffered cuts to his hands, a bruise to his neck and back pain from the altercation, he said in court.

But testimony also differed. Harden and his witnesses said McCane yanked Harden's collar; McCane and one of the bodyguards said McCane never joined in the tussle.

"It was one word against the other," jury foreman M. Eugene Gilliom said.

"We were not saying that the charges were clearly invalid. It was a question of whose word did you choose to believe."

One of the matters that raised doubt was that Harden had said in a complaint that McCane had punched and kicked him and tried to drag him down the stairs at Hair Experts Barber School on Karl Road. The complaint was amended just before trial to say that McCane had only tried to drag Harden down stairs.

"I have questions why they didn't drag the bodyguards into it," juror Robert Radcliffe said. "It seems to me, if you don't have the right people, you don't proceed."

Assistant City Attorney Nathan Akamine told jurors that his office and Harden didn't know the identities of the bodyguards until the trial. In addition, he said, the complaint against McCane shouldn't have been included with actions attributed to the bodyguards.

At this point, the city has no intention of filing charges against body guards Harvey "Animal" Stephenson and Robert Thomas, Akamine added.

As the verdicts were read, McCane clasped his hands, bowed slightly and thanked the jury. He hugged his lawyer, Randall Treneff, and then his mother, Roseanne Jefferson.

"I give the jury credit for hearing all of the facts," McCane said.

He said he had "a fair day in court. The jury was very impartial; they didn't judge me."

Earlier in the day, a soft-spoken McCane told the jury he had gone to the barber school to talk with Harden about threats he supposedly had made and while he walked away, he heard the scuffle and turned to see his bodyguards grabbing Harden.

Harden said in court that he will file a civil lawsuit against McCane to cover his legal and medical bills.