Criminal Charges Dropped Against Tony Yayo For Allegedly Slapping Boy

Tony Yayo cut a deal and had all the criminal charges against him dropped in connection with an incident last March involving the 14-year-old son of Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, the manager of fellow rapper and rival The Game.

It was alleged that Yayo (real name Marvin Bernard) slapped the boy, harassed him and shouted expletives at his father's record label/management firm, Czar Entertainment. 50 Cent was also named as being involved at the time, as were members of the G-Unit entourage.

Yayo pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, and was released after posting $5,000 bail the day after the incident. 50 Cent's lawyer insisted that he wasn't present.

The criminal charges were dismissed on Thursday in return for Yayo pleading guilty to non-criminal harassment, which will cost him 10 days of community service. Yayo's lawyer, Scott Leemon, said his client accepted the deal to avoid the "unnecessary hardships" of a trial.

Leemon also said that an acquaintance of Yayo, Lowell "Lodi Mack" Fletcher, had earlier admitted to police in an unrelated jailhouse interview that he was the person who slapped the teen. Fletcher pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to nine months behind bars, which would run concurrently with the state prison sentence he's currently serving on a narcotics charge.

Leemon released this statement concerning Thursday's deal:

"As I told you from the beginning, Tony Yayo did not hit anyone and would never do anything to harm a child. This fact was confirmed by Mr. Fletcher when he told members of the notorious hip-hop police in August that he did this on his own. The hip-hop police buried this helpful information, and the charges against Tony Yayo proceeded until today. Without a doubt, today's proceedings have validated Mr. Bernard's claims he was falsely accused. ... All that Tony Yayo admitted to doing was getting out of the car and glaring at the victim. Once he realized what Fletcher was doing, he went and grabbed Fletcher to pull him away from the victim."

Cynthia Reed, the mother of the 14 year old, was outspoken and critical of Yayo and Fiddy at the time of the alleged assault. Her anger obviously hadn't dissipated when she issued this statement following Thursday's decision:

"As much as Marvin Bernard tried to wiggle his way out of his role in assaulting my son, who is a minor, he had to accept responsibility to accept a plea deal. He couldn't hide behind 50 Cent, G-Unit, Violator Management or his co-defendant. This malicious crime against a child is despicable, and any industry sponsor or company that supports individuals like Tony Yayo should remove themselves from a relationship with him and his affiliated entities. Crimes against children should never be legitimized just because a person is an entertainer. A public apology is appropriate at this time, not only from Tony Yayo, but from 50 Cent for denying this event ever happened — as if my son was lying when all along they knew this assault had taken place."