NEW YORK — Rap impresario Sean "Puffy" Combs strode from a Manhattan court a free man Friday night after a tearful, but resolved jury acquitted him of all charges stemming from a nightclub shooting

"I'm really very emotional. I feel blessed. I'm just so...you know," Combs said at a brief news conference moments after the 6:45 p.m. verdict.

He draped his arm over his mother, Janice, who was at his side throughout the two-month trial and said, "I just want to go and be with my mother and my kids."

The 31-year-old mogul spread snapshots of his young sons, Justin and Christian, in front of him on the defense table as the jury filed into the courtroom to announce its verdict. The panel of seven men and five women deliberated 23 hours over three days before finding Combs not guilty of four counts of weapons possession and one count of bribing a witness.

Barrow, Combs and Jones listen to the verdict (Sketch by Shirley and Andrea Shepherd)

The jury also acquitted Combs' bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones of weapons possession and bribery charges. Up-and-coming rapper Jamal Shyne" Barrow, however, was convicted of assault and weapons charges and faces 25 years in prison. He will be sentenced April 16.

As the jury forewoman read the verdict sheets, she and three other female jurors wiped tears from their eyes. When the last 'not guilty' was announced, a cheer rose up from Combs' supporters. Janice Combs stood up in her seat near the back of the court, trying to make eye contact with her son.

Combs, who was facing 15 years in prison and the potential demise of his music, fashion and restaurant empire, had dissolved into attorney Johnnie Cochran's arms. His other lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, huddled with them, sobbing.

Brafman and Cochran (Sketch by Shirley and Andrea Shepherd)

The lawyer, a religious Jew who usually spends Friday nights observing the Sabbath, told reporters outside the court, "I feel like I just won the Super Bowl, and this quarterback is going right to synagogue to thank God."

Cochran grinned broadly and said he would return to his practice in California with "five not guilties that will resound in my ears forever."

Prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos and the police officers who had helped build the case against Combs were stone-faced as the verdict was read. They left the court without commenting.

With their verdict, jurors rejected allegations that Combs, the head of Bad Boy Entertainment, fired a weapon during a 1999 dispute at a Times Square disco in which three bystanders were wounded and that he later promised his chauffeur $50,000 and a platinum ring to take the rap.

With little forensic evidence, the six-week trial turned on often contradictory eyewitness accounts from police officers, club goers and Combs himself.

In what is certain to be seen as a shrewd legal move, the rap music king took the stand in his own defense and strenuously denied all the allegations against him.

The jury of seven blacks and five whites paid close attention as he described not only the night of the shooting but also his glamorous life of Bentley automobiles, mink coats and outings with girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.

The screen and record diva was at the club with Combs and was eagerly anticipated as a witness, but neither side called her to the stand, with Combs, who announced the end of their relationship on Valentine's Day, saying he loved her too much to put her through the ordeal of testifying.

Also absent from the trial was Matthew "Scar" Allen, the Brooklyn felon who instigated the fight with Combs' entourage and had been touted by the prosecution as an important witness who would accuse the hip-hop executive of firing a weapon in the club and then trying to buy his silence.

Allen fled the jurisdiction as the trial got underway, and even after investigators tracked him down there were problems with his testimony. Ultimately, both sides agreed to deal under which his statement to police was admitted, but Allen was kept off the stand.

Puffy's Lincoln Navigator

Jurors were left to sort through conflicting eyewitness testimony. Three prosecution witnesses said they were certain Combs brandished a gun, but five defense witnesses including Combs himself, claimed his hands were empty at the time of the shooting.

As the trial progressed, prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos repeatedly charged that witnesses, including some he called, were changing their stories or manufacturing them outright in an effort to help Combs.

In a long, angry closing, the prosecutor said the case was "rampant with bribery, money, influence and witnesses changing their testimony."

He pointed to phone records indicating the witnesses had talked with Combs before testifying, contact that all parties had denied on the stand.

The prosecutor warned the jurors that if they acquitted Combs, they would "be adding names to the list of victims in this case."

But prosecution witnesses, the defense argued, had their own credibility problems. Combs' lawyers repeatedly noted that the three people — gunshot victims Julius Jones and Natania Reuben and chauffeur Wardel Fenderson — who said Combs was armed, were also suing him for civil damages.

Guns recovered by police

During his testimony, Combs, whose personal fortune is estimated at $400 million, pointedly told jurors that the success of the suits, which he said totalled more than $1 billion, depending the trial's outcome.

After the verdict was read, jurors left the courthouse through a side exit and got into a large white van. As the last two jurors boarded, a spectator shouted out: "Did you do the right thing?" The two flashed a quick smile and stepped into the van.

In front of the lower Manhattan courthouse, Puffy's supporters outnumbered detractors. "What's the verdict?" one shouted. "Not guilty," a chorus of spectators rang out.

"From the beginning, I knew he was not guilty," said one man in the crowd, Andre Wilkerson, of the Bronx. "I think the testimony proves it. He doesn't need to carry a gun. That's what bodyguards are for."

Courttv.com's Sam Handlin contributed to this report.