10.24.06 (AP) A New York judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors could not charge Busta Rhymes with possession of a weapon -- a machete found inside a sport utility vehicle -- following his Aug. 12 arrest on an assault charge. Rhymes, 34, appeared at the brief hearing before Criminal Court Judge Shawndya Simpson. The judge rejected a prosecution request for the additional charge against the rapper. According to prosecutor Harrison Schweiloch, a machete was found in the rear seat pocket of an SUV in which Rhymes was a passenger when he was arrested following a performance at the AmsterJam Music Festival on Randall's Island. Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, was charged with assault after he allegedly attacked a man for spitting on his car. He is due back in court Dec. 11. The rapper, who wore two large diamond stud earrings, a gem-encrusted watch and a diamond pinkie ring, said nothing during the hearing. But he took a minute to tell the courtroom sketch artists, "I love it when you make me look good." He left the courthouse in a crush of photographers, camera crews and reporters, climbing into a black SUV. Rhymes' hits include "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," "Dangerous" and "Touch It." He has also appeared in films, including 2000's "Shaft" and "Finding Forrester."
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10.22.06 (AP) Sandy West, whose ferocious drumming fueled the influential all-female '70s rock band the Runaways, which she co-founded with Joan Jett, has died of lung cancer. She was 47. West died Saturday night at a hospice in San Dimas, California, east of Los Angeles, her manager Mara Fox said. She was diagnosed a year ago. West was only 16 when she started the Runaways in 1975 with Jett, a singer and guitarist. Along with band members Lita Ford and Cherie Currie, they had such hits as "Cherry Bomb" and "Born to Be Bad." "We shared the dream of girls playing rock and roll. Sandy was an exuberant and powerful drummer," Jett said in a statement. "I am overcome from the loss of my friend. I always told her we changed the world." Born in 1959 and raised in Huntington Beach, West was a bona fide California girl, splitting her time between surfing and skiing, Currie said. After West's grandfather bought her a drum kit, she channeled her athleticism into music. The Runaways headlined shows with such performers as Cheap Trick and Tom Petty as opening acts. Following the band's breakup in 1979, West continued to perform as a singer, guitarist and drummer with the Sandy West Band. She also released a solo CD. "Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault," Currie said in a statement. "It will never be the same for me again to step on a stage, because Sandy West was the best and I will miss her forever." West completed her memoirs before she died, and Fox said she hoped to get the book published. West is survived by her mother, Jeri Williams, stepfather Dick Williams, and six sisters. A public memorial in Southern California for friends and family is pending, Fox said.
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10.15.06 (AP) Freddy Fender, the "Bebop Kid" of the Texas-Mexico border who later turned his twangy tenor into the smash country ballad "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," died Saturday. He was 69. Fender, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2006, died at noon at his Corpus Christi home with his family at his bedside, said Ron Rogers, a family spokesman. Over the years, he grappled with drug and alcohol abuse, was treated for diabetes and underwent a kidney transplant. Fender hit it big in 1975 after some regional success, years of struggling, and a stint in prison when "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" climbed to No. 1 on the pop and country charts. "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" rose to No. 1 on the country chart and top 10 on the pop chart that same year, while "Secret Love" and "You'll Lose a Good Thing" also hit No. 1 in the country charts. Born Baldemar Huerta, Fender was proud of his Mexican-American heritage and frequently sung verses or whole songs in Spanish. He once said he sang in bars so dingy he performed with his eyes shut "dreaming I was on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.'" Fender's later years were marred by health problems resulting in a kidney transplant from his daughter, Marla Huerta Garcia, in January 2002 and a liver transplant in 2004. Fender was to have lung surgery in early 2006 until surgeons found tumors. "I feel very comfortable in my life," Fender told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in August. "I'm one year away from 70 and I've had a good run."
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