Da Brat avoided going to trial and the prospect of jail time on Monday when a plea bargain was approved by Atlanta's Fulton County District Attorney for her 2000 assault charges. In exchange for a guilty plea, a felony aggravated assault charge was reduced to misdemeanor reckless conduct.

A spokesman for the Fulton County district attorney's office confirms that Da Brat, born Shawntae Harris, was ordered to remain on probation for twelve months, pay a $1,000 fine and serve eighty hours of community service.

The Atlanta resident had been charged with beating a woman at the Chili Pepper nightclub in the city's Buckhead section on March 8, 2000. According to police, Harris pistol-whipped Rezue Robateue for sitting in the club's VIP lounge and refusing to leave when members of Da Brat's entourage told her to vacate. The beating left Robateue with a cut on her face that required three stitches.

JOHN D. LUERSSEN
(June 13, 2001)