'Puffy' launches shooting defence

Sean Combs denies the charges

A string of witnesses have told a court they did not see Sean "Puffy" Combs with a gun during a shooting incident in a New York club in 1999.

The witnesses were called as part of the hip hop star's defence against charges of possession of a weapon and bribery.

The performer, also known as Puff Daddy, is alleged to have offered his driver $50,000 (£34,000) to say that a gun found in the singer's car as they left the scene of the shooting was his. Three people were hurt in the shooting.

Two other men face charges relating to the incident. Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, 21, faces charges of attempted murder and gun possession, while bodyguard Anthony Jones, 34, is accused of having the loaded gun by his feet.

'Five to six shots'

All three men plead innocent.

One witness, a part-time bouncer for Club New York, said he had heard five to six shots, but did not see who fired them.

"I don't know if Puffy had a gun or not," said Trenton Stewart, 29, on cross examination.

But a nightclub owner called as a witness by the defence team told the court that Mr Combs and his associates implied they would "throw business" his way if he said nothing damaging during the trial.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos, Michael Bergos said that in conversations with Mr Combs, his solicitor Johnnie Cochran and an investigator hired by Combs, the "overall feeling" was "when all these things cleared up they would throw business" his way.

Mr Bergos added, during questioning by Mr Cochran, that he had not received anything from the singer or his associates.