T.I. Headed Back To Prison For 11 Months

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By ERRIN HAINES
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) -- A federal judge revoked rapper T.I.'s probation Friday and ordered him back to prison for 11 months.

The Atlanta native, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., was in federal court following his arrest last month in Los Angeles on suspicion of drug possession. He was on probation after serving 10 months behind bars on federal weapons charges.

"I think Mr. Harris had had about the limit of second chances," U.S. District Court Judge Charles Pannell Jr. said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

CONTINUE....

T.I. RELEASED ON BAIL

By Matthew Bigg

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Grammy Award-winning rapper T.I. was ordered released from prison on $3 million bond on Friday and will be allowed to remain at home under strict supervision in a weapons case that could see him jailed for up to 30 years.

Judge Alan Baverman said the rapper could stay at his home south of Atlanta on condition that he is monitored electronically and submits to random searches.

The judge said his visitors also must submit to searches and no more than three can visit at a time.

"You are going to be under home incarceration that is going to be governed by an active GPS (Global Positioning System) at your cost," Baverman told T.I., warning him not to have any contact with potential witnesses in the case.

The 27-year-old rapper last Friday pleaded not guilty to a trio of illegal weapons charges, each of which carries a potential sentence of 10 years in prison.

Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested the rapper in Atlanta on October 13, the day he was due to have starred at the BET hip hop awards.

He had been nominated for nine awards, more than any other artist, and won two.

The agents said the arrest came as he took delivery of three machine guns and two silencers that a bodyguard purchased on his behalf. T.I., born Clifford Harris, was convicted of a drug offense in 1998 and is prohibited from owning or buying firearms.



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T.I. DENIED BAIL AGAIN

It looks like T.I. isn't going anywhere. At least, not today. At a hearing this morning, the rapper's legal counsel requested that he be released on $2.2 million bond and allow him to have monitored home confinement while he awaits trial on weapons charges.

It was proposed by his attorney, Ed Garland, that someone would be put in T.I.'s home 24 hours a day to monitor activities there.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, would also have to submit to electronic monitoring. Only those on a preapproved list of visitors would be able to enter the home. Harris would surrender his passport and his right to drive, and would submit to random searches of the home and random drug screening.

According to CNN, magistrate Alan Baverman said he would need more time to consider the bond request. He then startled the courtroom by requesting that T.I. come up with the full $2.2 million bond in cash. Also, according to the AP, Baverman said he will reserve his ruling until a home monitor can be approved by the court, pretrial services officials and prosecutors.

Another hearing is set for next week on October 26.

Meanwhile, several record company executives, including some from Atlantic Records, were seated in the courtroom. Officials said they were prepared to offer signature bond on Harris' behalf in excess of $1 million.

Prosecutors countered that because of Harris' criminal history and because he was arrested while allegedly trying to buy machine guns, he poses a flight risk and danger to the community.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting today that during Friday's hearing, it was revealed that T.I. had up to a half-pound of marijuana in his vehicle at the time of his arrest. Baverman reportedly expressed distress after learning T.I. had told a pretrial services officer during a recent interview that he hadn't smoked marijuana in more than a year. When he was booked last weekend, T.I. allegedly told federal agents he had recently smoked marijuana, prior to the BET Awards.

T.I. was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on weapons charges, including possession of machine guns.

His indictment followed his arrest last Saturday for allegedly possessing unregistered machine guns and silencers and of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Harris, 27, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

T.I. ORDERED TO REMAIN IN JAIL

T.I. is still behind bars today after a judge on Monday ordered him to remain in custody on federal weapons charges pending a bail hearing scheduled for Friday.

Hours before his scheduled appearance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards Saturday, the rapper was swooped up by ATF agents and accused of trying to buy three machine guns and two silencers from a man who was cooperating with the feds.

Sporting a black shirt and black jeans, T.I. appeared before a judge Monday with family, supporters and media on hand in the courtroom. Prosecutors charged him with possession of unregistered machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

The government is hoping to keep the 27-year-old artist locked up as the case proceeds, but his attorneys planned to argue for his release on bond at Friday's scheduled hearing.

The road to T.I.'s arrest began just 11 days ago. According to a criminal complaint filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was contacted by a licensed firearms dealer earlier this month about a customer who asked about buying a machine gun without registering the weapon.

After attempting to purchase several machine guns from an undercover ATF agent, the unnamed individual — who said he had been a bodyguard for T.I. since July 2007 — was arrested. He said that he was buying the machine guns and silencers for T.I. and began cooperating with the government.

The rapper, born Clifford Harris, was arrested without incident in the parking lot of a K-Mart in Doraville, where he had instructed the bodyguard to buy weapons from what turned out to be an undercover agent. The bodyguard revealed that he had bought about 25 firearms over the past 18 months for the rapper, who is legally barred from owning firearms due to his status as a convicted felon.

T.I.'s girlfriend Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and Grandhustle rappers Mac Boney and Young Dro were also arrested. Mac Boney and Young Dro were not charged with any crimes and released, but Cottle, a former member of the R&B group Xscape, was charged with possession of marijuana and the drug Ecstasy.

A subsequent search of T.I.'s home recovered three rifles, two pistols and a revolver in the walk-in closet and safe in his bedroom.

"There are two sides to every story," T.I.'s lawyer Dwight Thomas told CNN. "I've seen copies of the documents as a result of the search, but I have not seen any evidence yet, in terms of any physical evidence."

T.I. ARRESTED ON GUN CHARGE

GRAMMY-winning rapper T.I. was arrested SATURDAY, just hours before he was to take the stage at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, in a shopping center parking lot where federal officials said he planned to pick up machine guns and silencers he had his bodyguard buy for him.

The arrest resulted from an investigation that began this month when a federal firearms dealer contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about a man inquiring about buying a machine gun without registering the weapon as required, according to a criminal complaint filed SATURDAY in U.S. District Court in ATLANTA.

T.I., born CLIFFORD HARRIS, is charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, as well as possession of firearms by a convicted felon. HARRIS is in federal custody, said U.S. attorney’s office spokesman PATRICK CROSBY, who would not disclose his location.

NICOLE SCHERZINGER

Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger (also known as Nicole Kea) (born June 29, 1978), is an American singer, dancer, songwriter and occasional actress best known for her work as the lead vocalist for the Pussycat Dolls.

Nicole Scherzinger - Feat. T.I. Whatever U Like