Lil Wayne Expected to Get One Year in Jail
Rapper pleads guilty to felony gun charges
By XANA O'NEILL
Updated 3:33 PM EDT, Thu, Oct 22, 2009
It may be Lil Wayne's first bad rap.
The rapper will likely spend a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to felony gun possession charges in Manhattan Criminal Court today.
The 27-year-old artist, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, was slapped with the charges after his July 2007 arrest, when cops discovered a loaded 9-mm handgun on his tour bus while he was headlining a concert in town two years ago.
The guilty plea may have helped the rapper skirt a 7-year jail sentence, according to the New York Daily News.
Carter -- wearing black jeans, a gray coat, white T-shirt and blue Chucks -- made the plea during what was supposed to be a pre-trial hearing.
"Yes, sir," Carter said when asked if he was ready to plea.
The one-year jail term was "a greatly reduced sentence," said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Soloman, according to the News. The judge warned Carter he could not withdraw his plea, as some in court do.
"I'm not one of those people," the rapper said.
Carter is free on bail until his February sentencing. He didn't speak after he left court.
Small amounts of DNA found on the weapon linked the Grammy Award winner to the gun, prosecutors said. Defense attorney Stacey Richman said the weapon didn't belong to Carter and argued the testing was too problematic to prove otherwise.
Cops pulled over the rapper's tour bus near Columbus Circle after claiming they saw and smelled marijuana smoke wafting out of the door before the bus pulled away from the concert venue.
Carter tossed a Louis Vuitton bag containing a gun as an officer approached, cops said.
Lil Wayne also is scheduled for trial in Arizona on felony drug possession and weapons charges. He has pleaded not guilty in that case, which arose from a January 2008 arrest at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.
Earlier this year, T.I., who is also one of rap's top sellers, reported to prison in May for his conviction on weapons charges. He's expected to serve a year and a day.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut
First Published: Oct 22, 2009 11:02 AM EDT on NBC New York
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