Sean "Puffy" Combs' Trial May Not Begin Until Early 2001

Sean "Puffy" Combs' trial on gun possession and bribery charges won't get underway until late this year at the earliest, New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon decided on Monday (7/31).

Solomon came to his decision after a hearing with lawyers for Combs and two other co-defendants--bodyguard Anthony Jones and rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow--according to court officials. Combs was briefly jailed on a weapons charge in December after Barrow, a little-known rapper signed to Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment label, allegedly shot three people at a club in New York's Times Square area.

The judge said he would set a trial date for late 2000 if possible, but that he otherwise wants the proceedings to get underway in early 2001, according to the Associated Press. "If there is any way the case can be resolved for any of these defendants [in the meantime] without a trial, don't hesitate," the judge reportedly said. "I leave that to the lawyers."

Combs faces two counts of illegal possession of a weapon: one allegedly found by police in the SUV that carried him, actor-singer Jennifer Lopez and two others as they fled the nightclub, and the other allegedly thrown from the vehicle. Though police initially detained her, Lopez wasn't charged with a crime. Combs' bribery charge stems from his alleged attempt to pay his driver $50,000 to claim ownership the gun found in the SUV.