Jamaal Barrow (foreground) was found guilty on two charges

He said they were crying because pf the anguish they felt convicting Barrow, who will be sentenced on 16 April.

Combs was charged with taking an illegal handgun into the club, and bribing his driver to take the blame for him. Bodyguard Anthomy "Wolf" Jones was also acquitted.

Mr Cochrane said his highlight of the trial was when Combs testified in his own defence.

"When he got off the stand, I gave him a hug and told him I was real proud of him. He stood up and did the right thing," he said.

"When he decided to do that, we didn't have to call Jennifer [Lopez]."

Lopez, Combs' girlfriend at the time, was with him at the time. She had earlier told a grand jury she did not see him with a gun that night.

Mr Cochrane now says he plans to retire from crimimal law.

'Bad-boy'

"It's always good to go out with a win - what I went through made me know I've done this too many times," he said.

Combs told the New York Times he felt his "bad-boy" image hadn't helped him.

"Like any other human being, I'm going to make certain mistakes, and my mistakes have been more dramatic than others," he said.

His eyes filled with tears as he spoke of his break-up with Jennifer Lopez, adding: "I felt responsible - she's rolling with me. It wasn't her idea to go out and go dancing."

Combs may now face lawsuits worth $1 billion (�698 million) from those involved in the shooting.