Juvenile cleared in lawsuit

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno

      Juvenile was cleared in a lawsuit that claimed he was responsible for an off-duty officer injuring her knee. On July 23, 1999, Juvenile and members of his entourage were at Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville, Florida when they were asked to leave because their dress and language violated the mall policies. When Juve and his crew refused, Melissa Huxley-Bujeda, an off-duty officer working security at the mall was sent to give the group trespassing citations. According to the lawsuit, a scuffle broke out and Huxley-Bujeda said she injured her knee. Juvenile was arrested and charged with breach of peace and resisiting arrest but was later dropped. Huxley-Bujeda claims that she’s had four surgeries and racked up $68, 635 in medicals bills.

      After a six day trial, the jury found in favor of Juvenile. His attorneys said that Huxley-Bujeda suffered from degenerative arthritis and had hurt her knees about 35 times as a child from sports.

      "We got them, we got them, we got them," Juvenile told the Associated Press after the decision. "Just the fact that it’s a rap artist against the police, that never happens. Rappers never win. We never win against the police or the government."

Huxley-Bujeda’s attorneys plan to file a motion for a new trial or an appeal.