Love & Hip Hop’s Mendeecees Found Not Guilty by Jury + Rick Ross, Jay-Z Hit With Lawsuit

Friends and family of Love & Hip Hop’s Mendeecees Harris, can breathe easier today. According to reports, Friday afternoon, jurors acquitted the reality star of sexually assaulting a teenager by coercing her with money and other manipulation in his home when she was 15. After news hit of the reality star’s innocence, his girlfriend, Yandy Smith tweeted:

No matter how much they tried to rip you of your pride, defame your name, degrade you…you kept your faith in God and told me to keep my head up. So I did. Not Guilty! I say it again NOT GUILTY!!!!

And while his innocence is certainly something to smile about, he still has other legal worries. Last week, he was named in a federal indictment out of Rochester, N.Y. that accuses him and two other men with trafficking $2.5 million worth of heroin and cocaine. Arrangements are expected to be made to extradite him to New York early next week. Nonetheless, we’re rooting for Mendeecees to come out on top.

And in more unpleasant news, Rick Ross, Dr. Dre and Jay-Z are being sued by gospel songwriters for sampling on “3 Kings.” The lawsuit, which was filed by Clara Shepherd Warrick and Jimmy Lee Weary, also names producer Jake One and Universal Music Group. The folks that own the rights to 1976’s “I’m So Grateful (Keep In Touch)” say that the lawsuit is about more than just the sample but also about how it connects them to a song that is against their values. No official comment has been released from Universal.

[CliffviewPilot, Hip Hop DX]