Tyrone Blackburn, the attorney representing Fat Joe’s former “hype man” in a $20 million civil case, was reportedly taken into custody Wednesday morning in connection with allegedly hitting a process server with his car.
As previously reported, Terrance Dixon’s lawsuit against Joe was preceded by the Terror Squad Entertainment founder accusing him of extortion and defamation in a prior suit. Blackburn was also named.
Now, per a report from TMZ citing a New York police rep, Blackburn has been arrested for assault. The accusation stems from an alleged incident in May of this year in which Blackburn is said to have caused a process server’s “minor injury” after hitting him with his vehicle. Joe’s legal team argues this was done intentionally to avoid being served.
“Tyrone Blackburn’s arrest comes as no surprise to me – it’s just the latest example of his malicious and manipulative pattern of misconduct finally coming to light,” Joe Tacopina, Joe’s lawyer, said in a statement shared Wednesday. “Blackburn is an embarrassment to the legal profession and it’s a disgrace watching him use the court system to shield his extortion tactics.”
Tacopina continued, “This is exactly why Mr. Cartagena proactively sued Blackburn and his client Terrance Dixon in April because he knew they intended to try to destroy his reputation by peddling salacious lies. Today’s arrest is just the first step, but I’m confident that my client’s name will be cleared from all of these falsehoods and Blackburn will be brought to justice once and for all.”
Complex has reached out to New York police reps for comment, as well as to Blackburn’s office. This story may be updated.
Last week, Tacopina slammed Dixon’s lawsuit as both “a blatant act of retaliation” and “a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the civil suit we filed first.” The lawyer also argued that Dixon and Blackburn were attempting to extort his client using “lies, threats, and manufactured allegations.”
Dixon is described in the suit against Joe as “not only” a former hype man for the artist, but also, allegedly, “a lyricist, background vocalist, security team member, and creative collaborator.” Joe’s legal team, meanwhile, has called Blackburn’s legal practices into question in public statements.
50 Cent was among those also mentioned in Dixon’s suit. Expectedly, he was quick to respond via Instagram, writing, in part, “These baseless accusations and claims are not credible.”
