Incarcerated rapper Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter has caught a lucky break in his Arizona drug possession case and will avoid jail time by receiving three years probation.
Details on the probation sentence were released Wednesday (June 30) evening.
Lil Wayne, already serving one year in a New York jail for a gun-related crime, was sentenced on Wednesday to three years probation in Arizona on a drug possession charge. Under the deal, the 30-year-old Grammy winner pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a dangerous drug. Three other drug and weapons charges were dismissed. Wayne appeared in court via a video hookup from New York, where he has been jailed since March after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. James Tilson, Carter’s Arizona attorney, said he was pleased with the court’s action. “We’re quite glad that we were able to wrap everything up,” Tilson told Reuters. “It’s a favorable plea agreement that will allow Mr. Carter to pursue his career.” (ABC News)
The rapper originally worked out a plea deal earlier this month.
During a short change of plea hearing, in which he appeared via video feed from a New York jail, Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a dangerous drug. The charge stems from a Jan. 22, 2008, incident in which the rapper’s tour bus was stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Dateland, 78 miles east of Yuma, where authorities said they found cocaine, Ecstasy and a handgun on his tour bus. Carter, who has been one of music’s most profitable figures in recent years, could receive 36 months of probation for the Yuma charge, which is scheduled to begin once his New York sentence is over, according to the terms of the plea agreement. In exchange for Carter’s guilty plea, charges of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia against him were dismissed. (Yuma Sun)
Last March, Wayne had an arrest warrant issued despite already being behind bars serving a gun conviction sentence.
Yuma County Superior Court Judge Mark Wayne Reeves issued the warrant Tuesday morning after Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, failed to appear for a final trial management conference. Carter has been charged with one count each of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He has plead not guilty to all the charges. (Yuma Sun)
Wayne’s lawyer later addressed the matter and explained his client’s current incarceration.
Lil Wayne’s attorney, James Tilson, said his client couldn’t appear because he’s serving a one-year jail sentence in New York for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. The rapper began serving that sentence March 8 at the Rikers Island jail complex. Tilson said he has filed motions to have Lil Wayne’s March 30 trial date vacated, and asked the court that his client be allowed to appear in Yuma when he finishes his New York jail sentence. He also has asked that his bond remain the same. (Associated Press)
Check out a past Lil Wayne interview below: