Sean "Puffy" Combs

December 27, 1999
Web posted at: 10:27 p.m. EST (0327 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Producer Sean "Puffy" Combs was arrested Monday and charged with criminal possession of a firearm by police investigating a shooting at a nightclub, said New York Police Commissioner Howard Safir.

Singer Jennifer Lopez, who was in a car with Combs when he was arrested, was also detained for questioning. After evaluating her case, the Manhattan district attorney's office decided not to file charges against her, spokewoman Barbara Thompson said.

Lopez, 29, and Combs, 30, were taken into custody at about 3 a.m. EST Monday morning after a vehicle in which they were riding allegedly sped away from the scene of the nightclub shootout in which three people were wounded, police said.

When police stopped Combs and Lopez -- along with two other people -- in a Jeep owned by Combs, they say they found the gun. None of the four are suspects in the shooting, which occurred at the club early Monday morning, Safir said.

Police spokesman Sean Crowley said police saw the sport utility vehicle carrying Lopez, Combs and two others run at least one red light before they stopped and searched it.

Dan Klores, a spokesman for Combs, said the gun did not belong to either Combs or Lopez. He told reporters outside the police precinct where Lopez and Combs were being held that the two were "victims of circumstance" who were "fleeing a life-threatening situation."

In addition to Combs, Anthony Jones, 34, and Wardel Fenderson, 41, the other two people in the Jeep, were also charged with criminal possession of a firearm.

Safir said the suspects were also accused of criminal possession of stolen property, because the gun had been reported stolen in Georgia.

Jones was also charged with possession of marijuana and a controlled substance.

Combs and Lopez, who have been dating, were at Club NY, at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue, when gunfire erupted inside the club about 2:20 a.m., said Officer David Lanuto, a police department spokesman.

The platinum-selling record producer and the actress-singer were stopped in a car with two other people about 10 minutes after the shooting at the nearby club, said Officer John Giammarino.

Jamal Barrow, 19, of Brooklyn was arrested at the club following the shooting, in which one woman was shot in the face and two men where shot in the shoulder. All three are listed in stable condition at local hospitals.

Barrow was charged with criminal possession of a 9mm gun. Other charges are pending following an investigation of the shooting.

Police say the shooting was a result of a dispute of which Lopez and Combs were not a part.

Combs, 30, has produced songs for Mariah Carey and Madonna. Lopez, 29, starred in films including "Selena," "Money Train," "Anaconda" and "Out of Sight" and released her debut album, "On the 6," in June.