Lil Kim Ex Damion 'World' Hardy on Trial For Ordering Six Murders, Running Brooklyn Drug Empire
Final arguments began in Brooklyn this week in the trial of Damion (World) Hardy, the former fiancé of hip hop star Lil Kim, who is accused of running a violent drug empire and ordering as many as six murders across the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood during a decade long reign of terror.
The New York Daily News reports prosecutors allege Hardy and his so-called "Cash Money Brothers" crew were so intent on keeping their empire afloat they were readily willing to issue "kill orders" at any point and time. In at least four of the murders Hardy is alleged to have ordered, Aaron (E-Bay) Granton is accused of being the trigger man.
"Both of the defendants wreaked havoc on the Bedford-Stuyvesant community of Lafayette Gardens," Assistant U.S. Attorney Soumya Dayananda told the jury in her closing argument. "Now it's time finally for these two defendants to be held accountable."
When authorities first took Hardy into custody in 2004, they initially sought the death penalty against him if prosecutors were able to net a conviction, but the proceedings were slowed because at first he was declared incompetent for trial. Law enforcement officials have since convinced a judge to allow prison personnel to forcibly treat Hardy for the schizophrenia he suffers from, and he has since been restored to the level of legal competency.
Over the course of the four-week trial, the Daily News reports Hardy sat stone-faced at the defense table. That's in stark contrast to the flashy, in your-face lifestyle he lived during his alleged time of rule. The gang is said to have adopted its CMB name from the drug crew in the Wesley Snipes' film "New Jack City."
Word is, he also once lived in a lavish, New Jersey mansion with Lil Kim, and once allegedly placed a $50,000 bounty on the head of boxing legend Mike Tyson after he heard the former heavyweight champion had put up the same amount to have him snuffed. According to Jezebel, Hardy has been charged in the murder of Tyson's former bodyguard.
Throughout the proceedings, the identities of jury members were kept secret over concerns for their safety.
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