Crime & Safety
Felony Charge Against Bieber's Buddy Lil' Za Reduced to Misdemeanor
The rapper is accused of breaking a jail phone, but because its value was less than $400, the prosecutors agreed to the lesser charge.
A felony charge against rapper Lil' Za, who was arrested in a Jan. 14 raid at pop singer Justin Bieber's Calabasas home, was reduced to a misdemeanor today.
Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge for allegedly breaking a jail phone, because the phone was valued at less than $400. Van Nuys Superior Court Commissioner Mitchell Block scheduled arraignment on the charge for April 30.
The rapper, whose real name is Xavier Dominique Smith -- is a younger brother to Bieber friend and collaborator Lil' Twist, both of whom are from the Dallas area.
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Smith also faces a drug possession charge but could avoid any charges if the judge agrees to let him enroll in a program aimed at keeping drug offenders out of jail.
--City News Service
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