Kanye Charged Over Camera Incident

Kanye West faces three charges stemming from an incident last year in which he allegedly smashed a TMZ photographer's camera on the ground at Los Angeles International Airport.

Prosecutors have now charged West with misdemeanor vandalism, grand theft and battery, according to TMZ, which caught the alleged incident on video camera.

Don Crawley, West's bodyguard and road manager, who was with him when the incident occurred, was charged with six counts including two vandalism charges, two counts of grand theft and two counts of battery.

West was originally arrested in September on suspicion of vandalism after he had a scuffle with the TMZ photographer, who was trying to take his picture. Then, TMZ said West took the photographer's camera and "threw it on the ground, breaking it into pieces."

There was question about whether West would be charged with felony vandalism, since California law stipulates a person can only be charged with it if they damage property worth more than $400 U.S. It was said West only damaged "a fistful of one shooter's lighting rig," which was valued at $100 U.S., according to MTV.com. Any alleged damages less than $400 U.S. can result in a misdemeanor vandalism charge, which is what West has been charged with.

If West is found guilty of the charges against him, he faces up to two-and-a-half years in jail. Crawley faces up to five years in prison if he's convicted. West will be arraigned on April 14, according to TMZ.

West is also scheduled to appear on The Cleveland Show, a spinoff of the popular Family Guy cartoon. The spinoff is about Cleveland Brown, Peter Griffin's neighbour.

West will voice rapper Kenny West in the series, which will start airing next year, according to People.com. West apparently showed up at the show's Los Angeles studio to for a three-hour rehearsal with the show's cast and crew before he recorded his lines.

"We just recorded him in the booth and he was fantastic," executive producer Richard Appel told People.com. "Once he read it a couple times though, he just owned the character, which I guess isn't hard since he was named Kenny West. He said he'd be glad to [be back]. I said we could write him in to the next 21 episodes!"