 |
|
|
Federal prosecutors filed additional documents Monday, Nov. 26, against rapper T. I., currently under house arrest on weapons charges, claiming the rapper has violated the law before, by unlawfully possessing guns, ammunition and a silencer.
The 27-year-old rapper, real name Clifford Harris, was arrested Oct. 13 in an Atlanta, GA. Parking lot, just hours before he was scheduled to appear and perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. He was arrested by federal agents for allegedly attempting to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers.
T. I. has been under house arrest since late October, after posting a $3 million bond. He remains in his home in Henry County, Georgia, where he is monitored around the clock electronically and by a private surveillance company.
His situation seems to have turned for the worse, as federal prosecutors filed documents on Monday, Nov. 26, in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The U.S. Attorney's office said Monday it plans to introduce evidence of three occasions when Harris unlawfully possessed guns, ammunition and a silencer, “all after having been convicted of a felony offense,” the Associated Press reports.
The first occasion when T. I. allegedly broke the law was Dec. 22, 2001, in Atlanta, when he allegedly gave the fake name Douglas Morgan and was carrying a concealed 9 mm pistol, reports the AP. The arrest didn't result in a criminal conviction.
He was arrested Nov. 1, 2002, in Henry County and later convicted of carrying a 10 mm pistol, the document said.
The AP reports that the third arrest was the result of a search warrant executed at his home in Fulton County on Dec. 18, 2004. Officers said at the time they found a firearm with an attached silencer, large amounts of ammunition and photos of Harris holding weapons. The incident didn't result in a criminal conviction.
T. I. is charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. If he is convicted, he could get up to 10 years in federal prison. No new court date has been set.
Until a court date is set, he remains under house arrest. He also has several other restrictions to abide by: he has been ordered to refrain from contact with potential witnesses in the case; he can only receive visitors under certain conditions.
His girlfriend is reportedly allowed to live with him in the house and he is permitted to work in the music studio he has there.
It is illegal for convicted felons to have someone else purchase firearms on their behalf. Around the time of his arrest in mid-October, T. I. had allegedly given his bodyguard $12,000 for that exact purpose. The man attempted to purchase the firearms from an undercover agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives without registering them. He was arrested and agreed to cooperate with agents and lead them to T. I.
He was convicted of a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act in 1998 and given seven years probation, which he violated, and was sent to jail, reports the AP.
© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia