Singer Convicted of Imprisoning, Beating Woman

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

James, 45, faces a maximum of 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 immediately taken into custody.

Jurors did not convict James on the most serious charges--torturing two women in separate incidents, one at his Hollywood Hills home in 1991 and the other last year 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 many charges but was pleased with the three guilty verdicts.

“I think he got lucky on victim No. 1,” Flier said. “But I think he’s going to state prison, and I feel good about that.”

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 own defense, displayed no visible reaction to the verdicts Friday.

Werksman said that the R & B singer--best known for his 1981 hit “Super Freak”--was elated at being acquitted of the torture charge but very disappointed that he will not be permitted to marry his girlfriend, Tanya Anne Hijazi, before she is sentenced to prison on Tuesday.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Michael R. Hoff declared a mistrial on the eight charges on which the jury could not reach a verdict after nearly four days of deliberations. Among them were aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, torture, making terrorists threats and forced oral copulation.

In addition to the assault and false-imprisonment convictions, the 10-man, two-woman jury also found James guilty of furnishing cocaine to the first victim, which James did not deny. Jurors 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 lone holdout was but said the juror was not convinced that James committed the alleged assault at his home.

“The question was did he do it, and the one juror thought that Rick James was not the one who did it,” said a juror, who would not give his name.

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

Hoff scheduled sentencing for Oct. 8, when prosecutors plan to refile the eight charges on which jurors deadlocked and retry him.

Hoff denied James’ request to avoid 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.

After the verdict, Hijazi appeared briefly outside the courtroom in tears holding the couple’s 1 1/2-year-old son, but she was quickly led away by her mother.

The first incident occurred in July, 1991, at the singer’s former home in the Hollywood Hills above Studio City. A 26-year-old woman testified during the three-week trial that after spending a few days smoking cocaine with James and twice consenting to having sex with him, he became angry and accused her of stealing his drugs.

She said he forced her to strip and tied her to a chair. She testified that he burned her abdomen and legs repeatedly for about 40 minutes with a hot knife, a lighter, a candle and a cocaine pipe and slapped her once with a handgun. After untying her, she said he forced her to have oral sex with Hijazi and then all three had sex.

James and Hijazi were arrested after the woman sought medical attention for her burns and hospital officials notified police.

The second incident occurred last November at the St. James’ Club hotel in West Hollywood. Mary Elizabeth Sauger, 35, testified that James and Hijazi beat her and held her prisoner for nearly 20 hours after inviting her to join them at their room to discuss his new recording label.

Rick James

* Born James Ambroe Johnson Jr. in Buffalo, N.Y., played drums at 7, was singing shoeshine boy at 8, left home at 15 for Toronto to begin a music career. Played with the Mynah Birds, including Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, later of Buffalo Springfield, and Goldy McJohn, later of Steppenwolf.

* Changed stage name to Rick James and began a solo career in 1976, creating “punk funk,” a sound that Rolling Stone magazine described as an “energetic blend of blatant come-ons and dance music.”

* First hit album: “Come and Get It” (1978). No. 1 R & B Singles: “You and I” (1978), “Give It to Me Baby,” (1981). Best-selling album: “Street Songs” (1981). Won a Grammy Award in 1990 for best R&B; song, co-writer with MC Hammer on “U Can’t Touch This.”

* Produced albums for singer Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls and comedian Eddie Murphy.

* Arrested Aug. 2, 1991, for assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, forced oral copulation, making terrorist threats and furnishing narcotics after a woman who lived at James’ Hollywood Hills home told police he tied her naked to a chair, burned her with a hot cocaine pipe and forced her to have oral sex with his girlfriend.

* Arrested Dec. 14, 1992, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, kidnaping and sale or transportation of narcotics after a woman told police that James and his girlfriend beat her at the St. James’ Club and Hotel in West Hollywood.

* Convicted Sept. 17, 1993, of three charges in the two cases, for which he could be sentenced to a maximum of nine years in prison. Prosecutors said they will take James to trial again on eight charges that jurors could not decide.