Rapper Beanie Siegel has been acquitted on charges that he nearly fatally wounded a man two years ago, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this week in a retrial, Siegel, 31, born Dwight Grant, was cleared by a jury for shooting Terrance Speller repeatedly during an altercation outside a strip club in July 2003.

A mistrial had been declared on the charges in April 2004 when the jury was unable to render a verdict after five days of deliberation.  Speller first testified to the jury that he was shot during a robbery, but a day later, he reversed his statement by telling family and police Siegel shot him.  Speller said he was afraid to tell the truth.

"I wanted to make sure I was going to be all right and my family was going to be all right," Speller told the jury.

Speaking after the verdict, Siegel’s attorney Fortunato N. Perri expressed glee for himself and his client. 
 
"It’s a great victory for me – but especially for him,” he told MTV.  “It gives him the opportunity to get his life back together, get his career back on track.”

Siegel released "The Truth" in 2000, "The Reason" in 2001, and this year’s "The B. Coming."

Before he can right his career, Siegel, who left prison last month after serving a sentence for federal weapons charges, will face assault charges in an unrelated case in about a month.

In that case, he is accused of breaking a man’s eye socket during a January 2003 argument.