Alleged Victim Denies Threat Was Made by Rapper Howse

Stanley “Flesh-N-Bone” Howse and his Grammy Award-winning rap group, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, wasted little time ascending to the first rank of popular music artists after setting up shop in Los Angeles in 1993.

Howse, 27, also was soon busy compiling a more dubious record: seven convictions, most for violent crimes, according to court documents.

He has been in and out of court, collecting convictions for spousal abuse, firearms possession, assault and threatening a neighbor in Chatsworth who complained about Howse’s loud music and hearing gunshots at his home.

Howse was back in court Monday, the first day of his trial on assault charges, and could face more than 19 years in prison if he is convicted. He is being held without bail.

The trial in Van Nuys Superior Court is three months after his group’s fourth album, “BTNHResurrection,” hit No. 2 on pop charts.

But Howse’s alleged victim, Tarrance Vickers, testified Monday that the rap star never threatened him with an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle, a version of events police say differs sharply from what Vickers initially told them.

“No way. . . . I didn’t say none of that to any of the officers,” Vickers testified before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp. “I don’t know what the hell [Howse] got arrested for.”

Vickers described himself as Howse’s friend and said he once drank champagne with Howse in his limousine.

Howse is charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

The charges stem from a Dec. 26 incident in which Howse allegedly brandished the weapon in the 5500 block of Owensmouth Avenue in Woodland Hills, after arguing with another man over Howse’s girlfriend.

When Vickers, the man’s brother, tried to intervene, Howse drew an AK-47 out of a baby crib, inserted a loaded magazine, pointed it at Vickers and then chased the two brothers, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said.

In court Monday, Vickers disavowed just about everything police said he told them.

What really happened, Vickers testified, was that he and Howse got into a scuffle, and both men ran away in different directions when police came.

“He didn’t have no gun,” Vickers said. When prosecutor Samuels showed him the AK-47, Vickers said, “I’ve never seen that gun, not that I know of.”

According to court files, police found an AK-47, a .223-caliber rifle and a .38-caliber revolver in the apartment where Howse was staying.

In 1994, Howse was convicted of assault and making terrorist threats. He was sentenced to two years’ probation, with an additional 30-day jail sentence for violating an earlier probation.

That same year, he was convicted of spousal battery and was sentenced to 45 days in jail and two years’ probation and later to another 60 days for violating probation, according to court records.

After three separate incidents in 1995, Howse was convicted of spousal abuse or battery and was sentenced to more than two months in jail and probation.

Last year, he was sentenced to 49 days, with an additional 42 days for violating probation after he pleaded no contest to assault, possessing an explosive device and making a terrorist threat.

On July 4, 1997, a neighbor complained to police about hearing gunshots at Howse’s rented Chatsworth home, and police found a homemade explosive device and shell casings in Howse’s backyard, indicating that a weapon had been discharged. Days later, Howse allegedly threatened to kill the 64-year-old neighbor.

In January, Howse was charged with weapons violations, making a terrorist threat and resisting an officer during an incident at a relative’s home in South Los Angeles, according to Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. A trial on those charges is pending.

His rap group, formed in Cleveland, is known for what one music critic called its rapid-fire raps and elegant, textured music.

The group’s most recent album reached No. 2 on music charts. Previous albums by the group opened at No. 1.

Tierre Blizzard, a promoter at Ruthless Records, a division of Sony Music, said the rap star’s current legal travails do not affect his membership in the Bones group.

“He’ll be out in a few months,” Blizzard predicted.