Jury Selection Begins in ‘Puff Daddy’ Trial

Jury selection began Wednesday in the gun possession and bribery trial of rap star Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs after his attorneys tried to have the trial postponed, citing media reports of the rapper’s past legal troubles.

The gun and bribery charges against one of the biggest names in hip hop stem from a fracas and shooting in 1999 at the Times Square nightspot Club New York in which three people were injured.

Combs has repeatedly denied the charges against him. He faces 15 years in prison if convicted of gun possession. Jury selection was expected to take a week, and presiding Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Charles Solomon told prospective jurors the trial could last five weeks.