Remy Ma’s Assault Trial Kicks Off in New York

Remy Ma’s trial on charges of assault kicked off in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday (March 10) with the prosecution and defense painting vastly different pictures of what happened on the night of July 14, 2007. According to the Associated Press, prosecutor Jason Berland accused the Bronx MC of pumping two .45 caliber bullets into Makeda Barnes-Joseph and then fleeing in her Cadillac Escalade. When she crashed the vehicle into a parked car, Berland claims, she fled to a friend’s house in Harlem without bothering to notify the police. But defense attorney Ivan Fisher countered that Barnes-Joseph had changed her story since testifying before a grand jury. According to Fisher, the gun fired accidentally as the two women struggled for the weapon. The defense implied that Barnes-Joseph’s account of the event changed as her lawyer was preparing a $20 million lawsuit against Remy. That suit has reportedly been withdrawn. The former Terror Squad MC was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charge was later reduced to assault after investigators determined that the weapon did in fact fire accidentally. She was also later indicted on witness tampering charges after she allegedly ordered a group of men to assault the boyfriend of a potential witness. Remy could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.