Rapper T.I. pleaded guilty Thursday, March 27 to federal weapons charges as part of a plea deal that could send him to prison for a year.
- Mar 28, 2008
AceShowbiz - On Thursday, March 27, T.I. pleaded guilty to several weapons charges he's facing stemmed from an October 2007 arrest. U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. in fact delayed the sentencing until March 2009 and thus the exact sentence will remain to be seen.
In between times that he is awaiting sentencing, T.I. must complete at least 1,000 hours of a total 1,500 hours of community service, talking to youth groups about the pitfalls of guns, gangs and drugs. He, moreover, will also be sentenced to serve about 12 months in prison after completing the community service. His prison time could be increased or reduced, depending on his fulfillment of the terms of the deal and good behavior, officials have confirmed.
In addition to both the community service and prison time, T.I. will as well have to serve three years of supervised home detention and pay a $100,000 fine. Failure to fulfill his obligations will net the hit-making rapper a "much longer prison sentence."
Told the judge he understood the terms of his deal, T.I. spoke briefly to the media after the hearing, "I'd like to thank God for blessing me with a second chance in life and success. I'm looking forward to turning this negative time in my life into a positive. I know I have a long road of redemption to travel."
T.I. was charged with illegally purchasing machine guns and silencers in an Atlanta parking lot, hours before the BET Awards back on October 13, 2007. He was charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, unlawful possession of machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
Initially pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been under house arrest since his release on $3 million bond on strict conditions, which included home confinement as well as 24-hour electronic monitoring, back on October 26, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias has confirmed that those conditions will remain in effect until sentencing.
