Singer Convicted of Imprisoning, Beating Woman : Trial: The jury deadlocks or acquits Grammy-award winner Rick James on eight other counts. He faces nine years in prison.

Singer Rick James was convicted Friday of assaulting and imprisoning a woman in a tony West Hollywood hotel, but jurors deadlocked or acquitted the Grammy-award winner on other charges that could have sent him to prison for life.

James, 45, faces at most nine years in prison. He had asked for freedom over the weekend to marry his former co-defendant in the case, but a San Fernando Superior Court judge found him to be a danger and ordered him taken into custody immediately.

Jurors did not convict James of the most serious charges, torturing two women in separate incidents, in 1991 at his Hollywood Hills home and in 1992 at the St. James’ Club Hotel in West Hollywood.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew Flier said he was disappointed that jurors deadlocked 11 to 1 on one of the torture counts and seven other charges, but said he was pleased with the three guilty verdicts.

“I think he’s going to state prison, and I feel good about that,” Flier said.

James’ attorney, Mark J. Werksman, called the verdict a “bittersweet victory” because his client escaped the possibility of life in prison.

“The jury obviously didn’t believe Rick was as bad as the prosecutor alleged,” Werksman said outside the courtroom.

James, who wept when he testified in his defense, did not display any visible reaction to the verdicts Friday.

Werksman said that the singer--best known for his 1981 hit song “Super Freak”--was elated that he was acquitted of the torture charge, but very disappointed that he will not be allowed to get married before his girlfriend, Tanya Anne Hijazi, is sentenced Tuesday.

Jurors found James guilty of assaulting and imprisoning Mary Elizabeth Sauger, 35, at the St. James’ Club Hotel in West Hollywood in November, 1992. Sauger testified that James and Hijazi beat her and held her prisoner for nearly 20 hours after inviting her to join them at their hotel room to discuss his new recording label.

In addition to the assault and false imprisonment convictions, the jury also found James guilty of furnishing cocaine to another woman in the 1991 incident. In the earlier case, a 26-year-old woman testified that James tortured her and forced her to perform sex acts after angrily accusing her of stealing drugs from him.

Jurors deliberated for four days without reaching agreement on charges of aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, torture, making terrorist threats and forced oral copulation. They acquitted him of a second count of assault with a deadly weapon, torture and dissuading a witness in the West Hollywood incident.

Outside the courtroom, jurors--most of whom declined to identify themselves--would not say who the holdout was, but said one juror was not convinced that James committed the 1991 alleged assault.

Juror Ron Arison said it was difficult to determine the credibility of witnesses because “basically, everybody was high.” Arison, a county real estate appraiser, said that neither James’ fame nor his admitted lifestyle of sex and drugs was a factor in deliberations.

Judge Michael R. Hoff scheduled sentencing for Oct. 8, when prosecutors plan to refile the eight charges on which jurors deadlocked.

Hoff denied James’ request to delay custody until he could marry Hijazi, originally a co-defendant. Hijazi pleaded guilty to a single count of assault and will be sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison. She did not testify in James’ trial.