Fight lands rapper three years probation

US rapper Foxy Brown was today sentenced to three years probation for a fight with two Manhattan nail salon employees, finally ending an assault case that dragged on for more than two years.

Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, tried to withdraw her guilty plea but a Manhattan judge said the agreement was legitimate and imposed the sentence.

“I’m innocent,” Brown argued before the judge, claiming that she felt rushed at the time that she made the plea agreement.

She also asserted that her previous lawyer had told her that she would face jail unless she agreed to the deal.

During the course of the trial, Brown hired three different attorneys, tried to reverse her guilty plea and was threatened with jail time for missing a court appearance yesterday.

An angry Judge Melissa Jackson yesterday promised to throw Brown in jail for a year if she did not show up today.

An earlier effort to reach a plea bargain last December had also fallen through.

Brown pleaded guilty to misdemeanour assault charges in August for kicking one employee and smacking a second worker in the face on August 29, 2004, in an argument over payment.