in 1989, bridges was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of kenneth "tex" clay, a los angeles-area drug dealer who, prosecutors argued, had been shot by bridges. bridges pleaded not guilty to the charges and was represented by the high-profile defense attorney johnnie cochran. cochran argued that bridges was an abused minor who had been driven to drugs by an exploitative entertainment industry and was now being unfairly framed. a witness finally testified that bridges was not present at the time of the shooting. bridges was acquitted of all charges by a jury.