The State : Band’s Guard Gets 4 Years

A former bodyguard for the rap music group Run-D.M.C. was sentenced to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the death of a man at a concert in Fresno two years ago. Garfield Brown originally was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of manslaughter in the death of Alex Baldwin, 21. Fresno police said several fights broke out during a Run-D.M.C. concert at Selland Arena on Aug. 15, 1986, and Brown and two other bodyguards left the stage to help restore order. Brown was charged with throwing Baldwin to the concrete floor and kicking him. Baldwin died of head injuries two weeks later, and Brown was arrested in New York City. Fresno Superior Court Judge Steve Vartabedian ordered that the manslaughter term begin after Brown completes a nine-year prison sentence in New York for robbery and burglary.