NBA Ben10 will remain in custody as he awaits trial on federal charges connected to the Houston restaurant confrontation that ended in a shooting.
Ben10, whose legal name is Benjamin Fields, pleaded not guilty to two counts during a Sept. 24 arraignment before Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan, according to legal documents obtained by Complex. The docket entry says Fields appeared with his attorney, a scheduling order was issued, and he was remanded to custody. His trial is currently scheduled to begin on November 9.
Fields and five others, including rapper OG 3Three, were charged earlier this month in connection with an alleged robbery at Confessions restaurant on Apr. 8. The charges against him are aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Authorities have said the alleged victim of the robbery was Detroit rapper AllStar JR, whose legal name is Jeremy Ford. Prosecutors say Ford was confronted by men who allegedly tried to take his jewelry. During the struggle, he allegedly obtained a gun and fired, striking Fields and two others. Fields suffered a spinal injury that left him without sensation below the waist. Ford faces separate federal charges stemming from the incident.
After Ford was arrested, NBA Ben10 publicly defended him for his actions.
"The whole thing went wrong but hey... if I ain't know the truth behind it... he ain't do shit wrong but take care of business," he said.
Federal prosecutors had argued that Fields should remain detained while the case proceeds, describing him as a danger to the community. Fields’ attorney Dustan Neyland claimed otherwise. He emphasized that his client had been the one shot in the aftermath of the robbery.
“After the alleged robbery, Ford attempted to murder Fields by shooting him three times before the handgun malfunctioned as Ford attempted to execute Fields,” Neyland wrote in a motion filed shortly before the hearing. “At no time did Fields possess a handgun and was not aware that anyone brandished a firearm in the course of the alleged robbery. No employee of the restaurant was injured or robbed.”
Neyland also said that Fields “is confined to a wheelchair and requires care to assist in his basic needs of hygiene, physical therapy, and wound prevention.” Per Neyland, the rapper has recently begun stem cell therapy as a treatment for paralysis, and he has a “limited, but hopeful chance of recovery” from his paralysis.
