Lady Leshurr says her “career has been ruined” after being cleared of assault
Lady Leshurr has said her “career has been ruined” after she was found not guilty of attacking her ex-girlfriend and her ex’s then-partner.
A jury found the rapper not guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Sidnee Hussein and her then partner, Chante Boyea.
Following the verdict, the rapper – real name Melesha O’Garro – took to Instagram to share her reaction.
She wrote, alongside a video with similar sentiments: “For the past year I’ve been battling a court case from people that accused me of stalking, harassing, and biting them but I was the victim. I was attacked and bitten by a dog and made out to be the aggressor.
“For a whole year people have deserted me, dropped me from deals, and didn’t want to work with me anymore. For a whole year I have had no income. Today has been judgement day. I’m shaking whilst I write this.
“My brand/career has been ruined regardless no matter the outcome, but at least I have a clean record and can FINALLY get on with my life. #JUSTICEISSERVED #NOTGUILTY #CARMENSSPIRIT #GODISGREAT.”
On October 22, 2022, O’Garro was arrested after police were called out to reports of an altercation in Walthamstow. She was arrested alongside 29-year-old Sherelle Smith from Yardley, Birmingham, who was charged with one count of assault. Both women denied their charges in court the following month.
During the case, the court heard that O’Garro and Smith waited outside Hussein’s house before attacking the couple. Prosecutor Polly Dyer said they flagged down Boyea’s car around 5am BST when she was driving to work along Knotts Green Road, Walthamstow.
When Boyea stopped, the court was told O’Garro “bit her on the hand”, and went on to attack Hussein when she ran out of the house to intervene, where she reportedly “suffered a number of injuries”. O’Garro denied biting Boyea.
Boyea told the court she had suffered nerve damage to her left hand as a result of the attack and could no longer hold a dog lead securely. “I will never be able to continue in that line of work again,” she added.
But O’Garro’s lawyer Ronnie Bergenthal told jurors that doctors’ notes did not specify that she had suffered nerve damage in references to her left hand being injured.
The defence lawyer claimed Boyea had also used her security dog in the boot of the car “as a weapon on Ms O’Garro”, adding: “You were directing that dog to bite Ms O’Garro.”
Ms Boyea denied this, and said: “At no point did I throw punches or attack her or release the dog from the boot.”
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Damian Jones
NME
