Witness in Rapper Case Admits Lies

A key witness in the Snoop Doggy Dogg murder trial testified Monday that he and another man removed a gun from the waistband of their dying friend in an attempt to improve the chances that the rapper and his bodyguard would be convicted of murder.

On the stand for the second day, Jason London said he figured that if his friend, Philip Woldemariam, was found unarmed, “Snoop and them would just go to jail.�

“If they never found a gun, it would be just considered murder,� London told the jury. He also said he had lied to authorities on several occasions about the gun, adding reluctantly that he sought advice from his neighborhood gang--the By Yerself Hustlers--before telling police that Woldemariam was unarmed.

London, who described himself to jurors a former member of the gang, also testified under cross-examination that when Woldemariam lost his temper, “he didn’t think rationally.�

And on the evening of Aug. 25, 1993, London said, his friend had become angry after a verbal confrontation over gang loyalties outside the apartment of the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus. London said Woldemariam felt he had been “disrespected� by Broadus’ friends, who Woldemariam claimed “threw� a gang sign with their hands as he drove past.

The conflict eventually led to Woldemariam’s shooting death at the nearby Woodbine Park, London said.

Prosecutors believe the rapper’s body guard, McKinley Lee, 25, pulled the trigger in what authorities contend was a drive-by shooting, with Broadus, 24, at the wheel of his Jeep. Defense attorneys, calling Woldemariam a “hothead,� say that the shooting was in self-defense. Both men are free on bail.

Defense attorney David Kenner repeatedly asked London why he lied about Woldemariam carrying a gun.

“At the time, the only thing I was thinking of was my friend,� he said.

Raising his voice, Kenner said: “You didn’t say anything about the gun because you wanted to frame Mr. Lee and Mr. Broadus. Correct?�

“No,� London responded.

Kenner continued: “You thought if you didn’t tell the truth about the gun, they would go to jail. Correct?�

“Correct,� London said.

He added: “At the time I was upset my friend was dead and I felt someone had to pay.�

Under Kenner’s prodding, London said he never saw the rapper engage in the conflict at his apartment.

“Is it your testimony that you never saw Snoop do anything?� Kenner asked.

“Correct,� London responded.

Despite the inconsistencies in his testimony, London stood firmly behind a point that is key to the prosecution’s case: He never saw Woldemariam pull a gun on Broadus or Lee.