West Coast rapper the Game, who was arrested on charges of impersonating a police officer last year, rejected a Manhattan prosecutor's offer today (June 13) of a guilty plea for a sentence of time already served.
A guilty plea to the misdemeanor charge in exchange for the time he spent waiting to go to court after he was arrested would have ended the case against the Game, whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, his lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said.
"Why should he plead guilty to bogus charges for a non-jail sentence if he's innocent," Lichtman said outside court. "And he is innocent. It's rare that I have a 100% innocent defendant, but this is one."
The rapper, who refused to speak about the case, was arrested in November 2006 after he told a cab driver that he was an undercover police officer and persuaded him to run a series of red lights, police said after his arrest.
Taylor, 27, of Glendale, Calif., allegedly picked up a livery cab the night of Nov. 16, 2006, shortly after he appeared on "Late Show with David Letterman." The cabbie drove about 13 blocks before he was pulled over, police said at the time.
Lichtman, calling the charges harassment and a "new low" for the police, said outside court, "This case will end in a dismissal or an acquittal." Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke scheduled Taylor's next court appearance for Sept. 20.
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