Kanye West Charged with Vandalism, Grand Theft

As much as people and the media hate to admit, even if rapper Kanye West’s ego can at times be more than a handful, very few are the instances when he got physical with journalists, as other celebrities make a habit of. September 11, 2008 was the exception in this case, as the rapper smashed a cameraman’s camera, which is why he has just been charged with battery, vandalism and grand theft, and risks 2 and a half years in jail.

According to TMZ, whose camera guy West attacked when he would not stop taking his picture at LAX, Kanye has not yet been arraigned for the three criminal misdemeanors. He will be so on April 14, when Don Crowley, his manager, will also face the music for his actions during the same incident.

“The L.A. City Attorney has also charged Don Crowley, Kanye’s manager, with the following crimes – two counts of vandalism, two counts of battery and two counts of grand theft. TMZ happened to catch the incident on tape. In fact, Kanye broke our camera light as we were shooting. Crowley is charged with breaking both the TMZ camera and the still camera. Kanye is charged with breaking the flash accessory to the still camera.” the celebrity gossip e-zine and paparazzi agency informs. If the two are found guilty on all counts, they face up to five years (Crowley) and two and a half years (West) in jail.

Since the charges have been made public, several media outlets in the US have tried to contact Kanye West for comment – to little avail, though. However, knowing the rapper for his penchant for what is being dubbed by the media as “statements as big as his ego,” chances are a response from Kanye himself is not long in the making.

Just to get a fair idea of what might be coming our way soon enough, mass-media journalists and bloggers alike have drawn attention to Kanye’s Details interview. “Put this in the magazine: There’s nothing more to be said about music. I’m the [expletive] end-all, be-all of music. I know what I’m doing. I did 808s in three weeks. I got it. It’s on cruise control… If not me, then who? Someone could be a better rapper, dance better. But culturally impacting? When you look back at these four and a half years, who’s the icon at the end of the day? Who broke down color barriers? What other black guy would a white person use as a fashion reference?” Kanye West said a while back.