| Rap star Lil' Kim, convicted of perjury and conspiracy in March, has been sentenced to a year in jail for lying to a grand jury to protect friends.
The jury was investigating two of her associates involved in a 2001 shooting outside a Manhattan radio station.She had faced up to 20 years in jail on three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy.
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Lil' Kim, 29, is thought to be the first high-profile female rap star to be sent to prison in the US.
Before her sentencing in New York, the Grammy-winning artist made a plea for leniency, admitting she had done wrong. "I testified falsely to the grand jury and during the trial. At the time I thought it was the right thing to do. Now I know it was wrong," she said in court. Lil' Kim, real name Kimberley Jones, was also fined $50,000 (£28,000).
[PHP]Shooting incident
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Charges were brought against her after a gunfight erupted outside the Hot 97 radio station in 2001 as a rival rap group was arriving.
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Jones and members of her rap group Junior Mafia had been guests on the station.
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As they left the building, a shootout broke out between members of her entourage and rival group Capone-N-Noreaga
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The group had challenged their rivals about an insult aimed at Jones by another female rapper, Foxy Brown, in a song called Bang Bang.
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Lil' Kim was accused of lying numerous times in 2003 court appearances when she told a grand jury her ex-manager was not at the station on the day and denied knowing a former bodyguard.
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Both admitted they were there and pleaded guilty to gun charges.
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One man was injured in the shootout, which happened at the same radio station where rapper 50 Cent was involved in a gun battle in March this year.
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