Rapper and self-proclaimed "voice of his generation" Kanye West was charged with one count each of misdemeanor vandalism, grand theft and battery by the Los Angeles city attorney this week stemming from a scuffle with the paparazzi at Los Angeles International Airport in September of 2008. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office had earlier decided against pursuing felony charges against West over the incident.
West and his manager, Don Crawley, were arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of felony vandalism after a confrontation with a paparazzi photographer and videographer in the passenger screening area. The videographer, who reportedly works for website TMZ.com caught the incident on video before Crawley attempted to take the camera from his hands. Crawley has been charged with two misdemeanor counts each of vandalism, grand theft and battery.
If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, West faces a maximum of two years and six months in a Los Angeles County jail with Crawley facing up to five years. In the incident, West and his manager confronted the paparazzi, took their equipment from them (constituting theft) and threw them on the ground. While the definition of theft is readily understandable, vandalism may be less familiar. California law defines vandalism as the defacing, damaging or destruction of the property of another person. Since there are also misdemeanor charges of battery, West and Crawley presumably came into physical contact with the paparazzi members, struggling with them to take the equipment away.
Typically, the difference between a misdemeanor theft or vandalism charge or a felony charge in Los Angeles is if the value of the property stolen or vandalized is $400 or more. In this case, felony charges would have been possible for law enforcement to pursue, however, the Los Angeles Police Department has been cracking down on aggressive paparazzi behavior, which may explain why the charges were downgraded to misdemeanor status. West and Crawley are scheduled for arraignment April 14th at the Airport Courthouse.
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