‘Young Buck’ fled the scene following Vibe Awards melee
POLICE HDQRTRS. — Local police are looking for rap entertainer David Darnell Brown, aka “Young Buck,” who is the prime suspect in the stabbing of a Los Angeles man during the Vibe Awards ceremony in Santa Monica on Monday.
The 23-year-old Brown is wanted for stabbing Jimmy James Johnson, 26, during Monday night’s urban music awards event at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. The stabbing occurred moments after Johnson punched Andre Young, also known as Dr. Dre, as the rap artist was making his way to the stage to receive a lifetime achievement award from Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg.
Police say Johnson appeared to be asking for an autograph, but then assaulted Dr. Dre.
Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. held a press conference outside the police station on Tuesday afternoon, asking Brown to surrender to authorities. A warrant alleging assault with a deadly weapon is being prepared for Brown, Butts said.
The melee broke out shortly before 7:30 p.m. After Johnson lunged at Dr. Dre and was being subdued by private security officers, several unidentified men tried to assault Johnson, police said. He was moved toward the stage by security personnel and two Santa Monica Police officers attempted to intervene. The officers were then assaulted, suffering minor injuries, when several unidentified men threw chairs at them.
Videotape footage shows three men holding knives, one of whom was identified as Brown. At one point, Brown can be seen lunging over another man and swinging the knife at Johnson as he looked the other way.
“They (the videotapes) show him making an actual stabbing motion,” said Butts.
Butts considers the video, obtained from production companies filming the event, a key piece of evidence if and when Brown goes to trial.
Johnson continued to be assaulted by unknown assailants and was subsequently taken to a local hospital. Suffering from a serious stab wound to the upper body and a collapsed lung, Johnson is said to be in stable condition.
“Right now, we don’t know what sparked the assault on Johnson,” Butts said.
Brown fled the scene and wasn’t identified by police until this morning.
Both Johnson and Brown have police records. Johnson is a parolee, however Butts said he didn’t know for what crime. Brown, whose last known address was in his native Nashville, TN, has several arrests for minor offenses. According to the singer’s official web site, Brown earned the moniker “Young Buck” as a 14-year-old peddling drugs on the streets of Nashville.
Brown released his solo debut, “Straight Outta Cashville,” in August.
Police have yet to interview Dr. Dre, who emerged from the scuffle unscathed and later accepted his award.
“We have a call into him, but he hasn’t responded yet,” Butts said. “We will interview him at his earliest convenience.”
Detectives are in the process of identifying several other assault suspects, particularly the two other men seen in the videos with knives.
The assaults sent the entire audience into a frenzy, prompting police to use pepper spray on several individuals in an attempt to halt the chaos. After order was restored, the ceremony continued. However, Butts said it took about three hours to clear the area, which was in lock down mode shortly after the fights broke out. Fifty-six police officers responded to the scene, 44 of which were from SMPD. The rest came from surrounding areas like West Hollywood, Culver City and Beverly Hills. Fifteen officers were on scene when the fight broke out.
Prior to the event, metal detectors were in place at the main entrance of the hangar and security personnel searched people as they entered, according to Butts. However, it’s unclear how the knives got into the venue. Butts speculated that someone may have entered at a different location where there were no detectors or security failed to thoroughly search bags carried onto the premises.
The probe is far from over, as police are attempting to locate hundreds of witnesses who attended the awards ceremony.
“This was a pretty massive melee and a lot of the participants (had left),” Butts said. “There is a lot more to be uncovered.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 17, 2004. Read the original PDF.