A Baltimore County Circuit Court judge sentenced a protégé of entertainer Sean “Diddy” Combs to community service for robbing a couple at gunpoint and threatening to “bust” one victim?s brains.
Kevin Barnes, also known as “Chopper” from the second season of MTV?s “Making the Band” show, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and assault charges stemming from an incident when he was 16. Now 22, Barnes? attorney said the incident was a teenage mistake that shouldn?t threaten the artists? pending million-dollar record deal.
Attorney Paul Gardner said Judge Michael Finifter?s sentence of two years of probation and 100 hours of community service was a “sweet deal” compared with the 90-year prison sentence he could have imposed.
“He wants to put all this behind him,” Gardner said.
According to prosecutors, Barnes, riding a mountain bike, approached a couple walking along Eastern Boulevard on Sept. 29, 2001, brandishing what looked like a handgun. Ordering them to “kick it out,” Barnes grabbed $90 from one victim?s pocket as the other took off running.
“Stop or I?ll bust your brains,” Barnes allegedly called after her.
Detectives found Barnes nearby on his bike with what turned out to be a pellet rifle. He was released,but failed to appear for his court date ,and a judge ordered a warrant for his arrest.
Barnes was pulled over in Atlanta in July and detained on the outstanding warrant. He missed a court date in Baltimore County in August after being jailed in Georgia on domestic violence charges.
Wearing a yellow polo shirt, jeans and sneakers, Barnes said Thursday that he was unaware of the warrant. In a news release issued by Gardner, titled “Is Diddy?s Apprentice a Real Life Bad Boy?” Barnes said he considers himself a “blessed young man” and “a legend.”
In the statement, he added: “I was a young kid, a product of my environment” at the time of his arrest.
“Shout out to Diamond Cut Entertainment,” Chopper said in the release. “They bonded me out and I came out to a 550 Benz.”
