Cardi B pleads guilty in Queens strip club fight, avoids time in jail
AMERICA Cardi B enters a guilty plea in the Queens strip club battle, but she will not serve any jail time. A publication made 13 hours ago on the 16th of September, 2022 By Panjab Singh
NEW YORK (WABC) – Cardi B will not have to serve any jail time as a result of her guilty plea to two misdemeanors for her participation in a fight that occurred in a strip club in Flushing, Queens, in 2018.
The Grammy Award-winning musician, whose real name is Belcalis Almánzar, entered a guilty plea on Thursday to charges of assault in the third degree and reckless endangerment, all of which are classified as misdemeanors.
She was arrested in 2019, at which point the accusations were elevated to felonies; however, on Wednesday, she pled guilty to the first counts stemming from the assault that occurred on August 29, 2018.
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The musician, who is now 29 years old, has consented to perform 15 days' worth of community service. In the event that she does not successfully complete the community service, she will have to spend fifteen days in jail.
Cardi B and two sisters who work as bartenders at the Angels Strip Club in Flushing had been engaged in a long-simmering quarrel before the incident that took place at the club in Flushing.
Cardi B is said to have accused one of the other women of having an affair with Cardi B's husband, Offset, who is a member of the rap group Migos.
Cardi B and the others who were with her got into a fight, and throughout the brawl they tossed bottles, chairs, and hookah pipes at each other.
She acknowledged in court that she had conspired with the other prisoners to assault the sisters as part of the agreement she had made to reduce her sentence. She further revealed that the two of them had spoken via direct messages on Instagram.
The rapper was present in court together with two other defendants, Tawana Jackson-Morel and Jeffrey Bush, both of whom entered guilty pleas on the same day as the rapper.
Bush, who is 35 years old and is suspected of actually committing the attack, will have to serve a prison sentence of six months.
The three of them came to an agreement to keep their distance from the two female victims.
Cardi B has issued a statement which reads as follows:
Being responsible for your actions is an essential component of developing into an adult and growing up. As a mother, I am attempting to establish this value in my children, but I know that they will only follow my lead if they see it in me first. I am not scared to look back on the mistakes I've made in the past and take full responsibility for them.
These experiences do not constitute my identity, nor do they accurately portray who I am at this point in time. I am looking forward to overcoming this challenge with the support of my family and friends and going back to the things that bring me the greatest joy, namely, performing for my fans and making music.
Cardi B's attorney, Drew Findling, stated outside the court that her client made the decision to enter a plea at the eleventh hour because she has "moved to another phase of her life" and "a three week jury trial would be a distraction from the things that she believed were most important."
He cited many other instances to illustrate his point that the 15 days of community service she will be required to perform will not be any different from the community service she has performed over the last few years.
"As soon as she completes her community service, which will certainly be consistent with the community service she performs ordinarily, that will be the end of it," he added. "There will be no more community service for her."
Jeff Kern, an additional attorney, stated that the community service will take place in Queens, and he gave the impression that it would include minors.
According to Kern, "the idea is that she's going to do something that plays to her skills in terms of reaching people, especially young people." "Uplifting and encouraging words on education and maintaining one's course."
Before Cardi's attorney entered her plea on Thursday morning, the trial was scheduled to commence on Monday, and jury selection was scheduled to begin on Friday.
Melinda Katz, the district attorney for Queens, has stated that "No one is above the law." "By entering guilty pleas today, Ms. Belcalis Almanzar and two co-defendants have admitted that they are responsible for the activities they have taken," the judge said. The resolution, which contains the necessary amount of community service, has been accepted with satisfaction by this office.