South LA can be a dangerous place for those of us with a discriminating taste in jewelry, even if you're a famous has-been gangsta rapper -- and a founding member of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony at that. According to police reports, Byron McCane (aka Bizzy Bone) was returning to his room at the Universal Hilton after dinner when he was confronted by a group of people who beat and choked him, stealing his jewelry. Wait, there's a twist -- one of the assailants was an anti-gang outreach worker.

Apparently, Bizzy Bone made a fatal mistake during a down economy: pairing too much bling with too little security. Police arrested a man named Marlo "Bow Wow" Jones in connection to the heist. Up until his arrest, Jones was a contract worker with LA Bridges II, a gang intervention program. He's now being held on $1.1M bail.

Obviously, Bow Wow's contract was suspended at the time of the arrest, but his employers say he'll be back at work if he's cleared of any wrongdoing. Is this a sign that times are getting tougher? If Bizzy Bone isn't safe wearing high end jewelry, who is?

[via Gawker]