Rapper T.I‘s fans have something to cheer about as the Los Angeles County District Attorney‘s office has declined to file charges against T.I. following his arrest September 1 on alleged drug possession.
According to DA office spokeswoman Jane Robinson, her office rejected the filing of misdemeanour charges in part because the rapper (born Clifford Harris) has already been sentenced to serve prison time for a probation violation in connection with the arrest.
According to the Charge Evaluation Worksheet filed last Monday in Los Angeles, ”D [defendant] is the driver of a car stopped for traffic violation. Deputy smells marijuana and searches car and occupants for source of odor. Deputy finds 4 pills of ecstasy in D‘s pants. Deputies also find marijuana in car and other narcotics in possession of one of the passengers. D is on federal probation in Georgia and has already been sentenced to 10 months [ed. 11 months] in prison for violation stemming from this arrest. Given amount of facts above, case rejected.”
A spokesperson for T.I. said he is scheduled to turn himself in to begin his prison sentence next Monday. It was unknown at press time how the latest stint behind bars will affect the upcoming release of T.I.‘s long-awaited King Uncaged, which the MC recorded during his supervised release from his previous prison bid.
Robinson would not comment on a TMZ report attributed to unidentified ”law enforcement sources” that there were ”significant legal issues” over the probable cause claimed by police that led to the arrest of the rapper and his wife, Tameka ”Tiny” Cottle. ”Cops claimed they smelled marijuana but no pot was ever booked into evidence,” TMZ reported. ”And, we‘re told ... T.I. was pulled out of his $250,000 Maybach immediately after he made the illegal U-turn and prior to any registration check.”
T.I. was sentenced to 11 months in prison October 15 by a federal judge at a probation hearing, during which the Atlanta MC was found to have violated the terms of his supervised release. The prosecution sought to send T.I. back to prison for two years, but the rapper pleaded with the judge to lessen his punishment and instead help him with his drug dependency, which was not specified.
According to police documents obtained by several media outlets leading up to the hearing, at the time of his arrest, the rapper tested positive for opiates, was in possession of Ecstasy and was also associating with a felon, who was present in his vehicle during the bust, also in violation of the terms of T.I.‘s probation of federal felony gun charges.
T.I. was released from a halfway house earlier this year after serving seven months in a low-security facility in Arkansas. The prison time stemmed from an October 2007 arrest when T.I., a convicted felon, attempted to purchase illegal firearms. He was able to reach a unique plea deal at the time - upon the condition that he would speak to youth, complete community service and be placed under house arrest — and he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. After his release, he was placed on strict probation.
Source: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101031282735
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