Detectives were negotiating the surrender of rapper Young Buck, who is suspected of stabbing a man who had punched rap star Dr. Dre at the Vibe Awards, police said Thursday.
Santa Monica Police Lt. Frank Fabrega said detectives had been in contact with Scott Leemon, an attorney representing the rapper, but had yet to reach an agreement.
“We’re encouraging him to surrender,” Fabrega said.
Leemon, a New York attorney, issued a press release saying Young Buck, whose real name is David Darnell Brown, would “surrender in the near future and then be released on bail.”
Leemon, reached by phone, confirmed the statement but declined to provide details.
Police allege that Brown, 23, stabbed a man who had punched Dr. Dre as he was about to receive a lifetime achievement award. The incident occurred Monday night in a hangar at the suburban Santa Monica Airport where the awards show was being taped.
Investigators were trying to identify two other men seen holding knives in a videotape of the chaotic fight that followed the attack on Dr. Dre.
The man who was stabbed has been identified as Jimmy James Johnson, 26, a parolee from Los Angeles. Johnson suffered a collapsed lung and was in stable condition Wednesday at a hospital. Police have been unable to interview him because of his condition, Fabrega said.
Brown’s mother, Audrey Horn, said Thursday in Nashville that she had not heard from her son but “was sure David is going to turn himself in.”
Young Buck is signed to Dre’s record label as part of G-Unit, which was named best group by Vibe magazine. His debut solo album, “Straight Outta Ca$hville,” debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts in August.
The melee sent people scurrying for the exits, but the show ultimately went on. It was broadcast Tuesday on UPN, edited to remove any trace of the attack.
Many in the constantly feuding rap community speculated that longtime Dre antagonist Suge Knight, who attended the awards, arranged for Dre to get punched. Knight has denied any involvement.