What Really Happened?

50 Cent recovers necklace

The necklace supposedly robbed from 50 Cent on April 30^th during a show in Luanda, has already been returned to his legitimate owner, it can be read in the news section of the MTV channel website (www.mtv.com). Citing a statement by a member of 50 Cent’s band, G-Unit, to another website (www.tmz.com), according to which “the necklace is back on 50 Cent’s neck”, the article does not offer any details about how the piece, estimated to be worth around USD 2 million, was recovered.

Still according to that MTV news article, signed by Gil Kaufman, the artist’s spokesperson at Interscope Records said to The New York Times that “50 Cent’s necklace was recovered.” Meanwhile, at the artist’s site (www.thisis50.com) the supposed mugger, named as Bruno Carvalho, is not mentioned as having snatched the diamond encrusted piece. Instead, it is said that security at the event was precarious, which allowed some fans to get too close to the artist, having one of them “tried to grab 50 Cent’s necklace”.

This account of the event seems to be consistent with the alleged robber’s version presented to the public by the National Police at the beginning of the (last) week. According to Bruno Carvalho’s relatives, the truth is that he didn’t try to get hold of the necklace: “What happened was that he had bet with friends that he could stand next to his idol. However, when 50 Cent saw him too close reacted violently and, while trying to protect himself, Bruno lost his balance and involuntarily hung to the necklace which afterwards fell to the floor without him noticing.”

Moreover, contrary to previous reports, the police didn’t catch the supposed criminal. It was his family who handed-in him to the police in the belief that effectively he could not have had the intention of getting hold of the piece, being as he is a good-natured young man without any prior criminal record. The family also regrets the way in which the police exposed him to the public without due regard for the principle of ‘innocence until proven guilty’: “He wasn’t caught red-handed in the act, there is no proof whatsoever that he has really taken the necklace. Why was he then treated as a common criminal, when it was even the family who took him to the police to clarify the issue?”, a relative asked. It was also on that basis that the accused refused to be pictured or filmed by TV and declined to make any statements, having named his lawyer as the only person authorised to publicly speak on his behalf.