Singer Rick James Pleads Not Guilty to Assault
Rock singer Rick James and a girlfriend pleaded not guilty Friday in San Fernando Municipal Court to charges that they imprisoned, sexually assaulted and tortured a woman in a dispute over drugs.
James, 43, and Tanya Ann Hijazi, 21, were arrested Aug. 2 and accused of holding the 24-year-old woman captive in the singer’s Hollywood Hills home. After arraignment, the two were returned to jail. Bail for James has been set at $1 million and for Hijazi at $500,000.
James and Hijazi were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated mayhem, torture and forcible oral copulation. James was additionally charged with assault with a deadly weapon, making terrorist threats and furnishing cocaine.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 21.
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