G-Unit rapper Yayo rejects jail offer

NEW YORK - Tony Yayo, a rapper with hip-hop group G-Unit, rejected an offer Tuesday of nine months in jail in exchange for pleading guilty to slapping and punching a 14-year-old boy.

Yayo, 29, whose real name is Marvin Bernard, was charged in March with assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly hitting the boy, James Rosemond. The alleged victim is the son of Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, recording executive and manager of The Game.

Yayo has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is free on $5,000 bail.

"The prosecution's nine-month offer is one Tony vehemently rejected," said Yayo's lawyer, Scott Leemon. "It's not even a good offer for a guilty person, and Tony denies the allegations absolutely."

A misdemeanor complaint said the youth told police Yayo hit him with his hand, "causing (his) face to strike the door of a building" at Sixth Avenue and 25th Street and causing him "to have a headache, an earache and caused substantial pain to (his) face."

The case was adjourned until Sept. 6, when Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Neil Ross is expected to rule on Leemon's motion to subpoena e-mails between 5W Public Relations and its client Czar Entertainment.

Leemon refused to say why he wants to see the e-mails.

Besides Yayo, G-Unit includes 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck.

Czar Entertainment was co-founded by Rosemond. Its recording artists include Brandy, The Game and Mario Winans, according to the company's Web site.

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