Foxy Brown guilty of phone charge

Rapper Foxy Brown released her first solo album Ill Na Na in 1996

Rapper Foxy Brown has avoided a further spell in prison after pleading guilty to menacing her neighbour with a phone.

Appearing in a New York court, the 28-year-old admitted hitting Arlene Raymond during an argument over the volume of her car stereo last July.

The incident landed the star in prison for violating the terms of her probation on a separate assault charge.

Brown, real name Inga Marchand, was released in April after serving eight months of a one-year sentence.

By pleading guilty to the phone attack, Marchand has avoided a trial for assault, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

The hip-hop artist was accused of bruising the eye and chipping the tooth of her long-time neighbour when she struck her with a BlackBerry phone.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge John Walsh sentenced Marchand to time already served, issued an order of protection and ordered her to submit a letter of apology.

In a hand-written note, the star said: "I apologize for the incident that occurred on 31 July 2007, in that I attempted to scare Arlene Raymond and place her in harm's way."

As Foxy Brown, Marchand became the first female rap artist to debut at number one in the US album charts with Chyna Doll in 1999.