Rapper Casanova Turns Himself Into NYPD After Allegedly Assaulting Woman In Chelsea Diner
Aug. 15, 2018, 10:07 a.m.
She was left with a broken jaw and other injuries.

Rapper Casanova at a premiere for the TV show 'Power'
Cops are searching for a Brooklyn rapper who allegedly assaulted a woman in a Chelsea diner this past weekend, leaving her with a broken jaw after mistakenly believing that she was filming him, police said. According to the woman, she was using her cellphone to take an Instagram Live video of her meal. (UPDATE: TMZ is reporting that the rapper turned himself into police on Wednesday.)
Niya Rucker told police that she was approached by Casanova—born Caswell Senior—while filming her food at the Good Stuff Diner on West 14th Street and 6th Avenue around 4:40 a.m last weekend. The "Down Bitch" rapper allegedly tried to grab the 22-year-old woman's phone while one of his friends put her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness, police said.
Police say that both Casanova and a third individual—a woman in a pink hat—then punched the passed out victim, causing lacerations to her chin, a swollen lip, and bleeding from the mouth. The trio then took off with the woman's phone—but were caught on the diner's surveillance footage.
"You think just because you're somebody you can do whatever the hell you want to somebody, but that's not okay," Rucker told PIX11. "This is embarrassing. I haven’t eaten food in three days, and it's more than just the physical pain.”
The rapper's attorney told the outlet that his client denies all allegations of assault. "Any contention he did so is totally false. We are in the process of conducting our own investigation into these false allegations," he said. The NY Post reports that Casanova is expected to turn himself into police on Wednesday—though it's unclear whether the other two suspects have been identified.
The woman, meanwhile, says she is sure that Casanova was part of the attack, and recognized his signature gold chain with a pendant that says "2X." He was spotted in New York alongside Brooklyn rapper 6ix9ine—who has his own history of assault allegations—at Rucker Park hours before the attack.
.@CASANOVA_2X & @6ix9ine pulled up Rucker Park last night. pic.twitter.com/t819IUqP6W
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) August 5, 2018
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.