GERMANY: AMERICAN RAP SINGER COOLIO AND MEMBERS OF HIS BAND GO ON TRIAL FOR ASSAULT AND ROBBERY

Record ID: 388077

  • Title: GERMANY: AMERICAN RAP SINGER COOLIO AND MEMBERS OF HIS BAND GO ON TRIAL FOR ASSAULT AND ROBBERY
  • Date: 28th November 1998
  • Summary: BOEBLINGEN, GERMANY NOVEMBER 26, 1998 (REUTERS) ARRIVAL COOLIO OUTSIDE COURT /FANS RAPPER COOLIO: (SOUNDBITE)(English) "Everybody here has been very nice here. I'm a nice guy. People treat me nice 'cuz I treat them nice." COOLIO: (SOUNDBITE)(English) "Just because one gets into a misunderstanding with one individual does not mean that I have a different view of Germ
  • Embargoed: 13th December 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NOVEMBER 26, 1998
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA7ECIM5208Y23NKSVLTALHZXY7
  • Story Text: American rap singer Coolio and four members of his band went on trial in a German court on Thursday (November 26th) chargedd with assault and robbery.
    Prosecutors in the southern German town of Boeblingen charged Coolio, whose real name is Artis Ivey, with assault and abetting robbery following an incident last November.
    He is accused of assaulting a woman in a boutique who tried to prevent him and his friends from leaving the store with garments worth 1,500 marks that they had not paid for.
    "I'm innocent," Coolio said in between signing autographs to waiting fans, police officers and court officials."I've done nothing.I'm a nice guy.People treat me nice 'cuz I treat them nice.It's a big misunderstanding."
    Prosecutors said that when the 29-year-old female shop manager tried to block their exit, Coolio shoved her aside violently and elbowed her in the stomach.
    Coolio later turned himself into police.He was then released on 100,000 marks bail.Four members of his band "40 Thevz" have been charged with robbery and assault.
    The rapper, who has scored worldwide hits with songs like "Gangsta's Paradise" and "CU When U Get There," had held an autograph-signing session in the shop the day before the incident.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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