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Lil' Kim's Innocent Plea by Lia Haberman Jul 28, 2004, 2:00 PM PT If Lil' Kim goes down, her posse goes with her. The Brooklyn-born rapper pleaded not guilty again Wednesday to lying about what she witnessed at a New York radio-station shootout three years ago. Ditto her entourage, who have been named as defendants in the indictment. Taking the stand to proclaim their innocence today were Kim's assistant, Monique Dopwell, business associate Damien Butler and Kim's business manager, Hillary Weston, a last-minute addition to the case. A bodyguard who allegedly accompanied La Bella Mafia's leading lady to the offices of Hot 97 had already pleaded guilty to firing a machine gun during the confrontation and faces more than 13 years in federal prison. (Kim and her crew had already entered their not-guilty pleas earlier this year, but the addition of Weston to the case required that everyone reenter their pleas.) The whole thing stinks of celebrity bashing, according to the Queen Bee's lawyer, Mel Sachs. "Kim has been unfairly accused and unjustly charged, she was wrongfully targeted and singled out because of who she is in the music industry," he told E! Online. The charges against the rapper (real name Kimberly Jones) stem from a grand-jury investigation into a Feb. 25, 2001, shootout between Kim's posse, Junior MAFIA, and the rival rap entourage of Capone-N-Noreaga outside Manhattan's WQHT building. No one was **** in the crossfire, but one man was **** after taking a bullet in the back. When authorities questioned Kim about the incident, she allegedly fudged the details about who was involved and what she witnessed. (It was probably not the smartest move since prosecutors claim to have a videotape of the Notorious K.I.M. witnessing the gun battle, then darting into a limousine with some of the alleged shooters.) She was subsequently charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years on the obstruction count and 35 years maximum on all the other charges. Kim could be in good company. On Tuesday, her business manager, Weston, was added to the defendant's list. Weston was indicted on charges that she ignored subpoenas to turn over documents from Kim's company, Queen Bee Entertainment. Weston is also accused of altering, destroying and mutilating Queen Bee's records requested by the grand jury as part of their investigation. Maybe the shredder shorted out because investigators went on to seize 22 boxes of documents and photos during a search of the 28-year-old rapper's headquarters. A November trial date was originally scheduled to give prosecutors time to go over the material seized at Queen Bee's offices--it may not have been enough. On Wednesday, over prosecution protests, U.S. District Court Judge Gerard Lynch reset the trial for Feb. 28 to give the defense more time to prepare.