D.A. Will Not Retry Rapper, Ex-Bodyguard

Rap star Snoop Doggy Dogg and his former bodyguard, who were acquitted of murder charges last month, will not be retried on lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced Monday.

Prosecutors Ed Nison and Bobby Grace said they felt that, because of the jury’s 9-3 deadlock in favor of acquittal on manslaughter charges, it would be difficult to obtain a conviction against the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and ex-bodyguard McKinley Lee.

“We have no new evidence to present,” Grace said. “A new prosecution on a manslaughter charge would, in all likelihood, not be successful.”

Broadus and Lee were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy charges stemming from the Aug. 25, 1993, shooting death of Philip Woldemariam, 20, at a park in the Palms area of West Los Angeles.

After a week of tense deliberations, however, the seven-man, five-woman panel deadlocked on the lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial on Feb. 21.

While the defense claimed Lee shot Woldemariam in self-defense after he reached for a gun tucked in his waistband, the prosecution alleged that Woldemariam was shot in the back while trying to run for his life.

Broadus was at the wheel of his Jeep Cherokee at the time Lee fired the shots from the passenger seat. The shooting apparently erupted after a gang-related dispute.

Nison said it would be difficult to retool the theory of the case to prove manslaughter instead murder.

“The case as we look at it is, in our minds, a murder case,” Nison said. “It’s hard to shift gears. . . . The laws and facts don’t fit a manslaughter case.”

At the request of the prosecution, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Flynn dismissed the charges Monday after a brief status hearing. Broadus still faces unrelated 1993 felony gun charges, but he will remain free on his own recognizance.

Outside the court, Broadus expressed relief that the murder and manslaughter charges were behind him. “All along they were saying ‘Murder was the case. Murder was the case. Murder was the case,’ ” Broadus said, playing off the lyrics of one of his songs. “When they dropped murder . . . there’s no more case.”

He said he is anxious to get back in the studio and record a follow-up to his 1994 “Doggystyle” album, which sold over 4 million copies in the United States.

“I’m just happy I’m able to get back in the studio with a clear head,” Broadus said.

Lee said he also was anxious to “get on with my life.”

“Another black man died by my hands. That’s something I have to live with every day,” Lee said. “I want to express remorse to the Woldemariam family because they lost a son. But I also want to thank God for enabling me to react that day. If I had waited [to shoot], I could have been dead, Snoop could have been dead.”

Woldemariam’s family members, who attended court throughout the trial, were not present for Monday’s court hearing and could not be reached for comment. The family is continuing to pursue a $25-million wrongful-death suit against the rapper and his record company.

“The family is disappointed the case did not end in a conviction,” said Edi M. O. Faal, the Woldemariams’ civil attorney. “But we have every reason to believe that we will win the civil case. Sometimes if you don’t have justice in the criminal courts, the civil courts become the court of last resort.”

Broadus’ attorneys, however, said the case was weak from the start and should never have been brought to trial.

“It’s too bad everyone had to be put through this,” said defense attorney Marcia Morrissey. “The case should have been dismissed a long time ago.”