Rapper Coolio spared jail in guilty plea to gun charge

Record ID: 902057

  • Title: Rapper Coolio spared jail in guilty plea to gun charge
  • Date: 27th October 2016
  • Summary: CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 6, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** RAPPER COOLIO ON RED CARPET BOEBLINGEN, GERMANY (FILE - DECEMBER 3, 1998) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) COOLIO ARRIVING AT COURT WITH LAWYER (SOUNDBITE) (English) COOLIO (ASKED HOW THINGS ARE GOING FOR HIM), SAYING: "I don't know. I can't really say until it's over.
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2016 00:07
  • Keywords: gun lawsuit rapper Coolio
  • Location: LOS ANGELES/CULVER CITY/BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES; VENICE, ITALY; BOEBLINGEN, GERMANY;
  • City: LOS ANGELES/CULVER CITY/BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES; VENICE, ITALY; BOEBLINGEN, GERMANY;
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Music
  • Reuters ID: LVA00155S3N7X
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Grammy-winning rapper Coolio pleaded guilty on Wednesday (October 26) to unlawful firearm possession for carrying a loaded pistol in a backpack into Los Angeles International Airport last month and was sentenced to three years of probation, prosecutors said.
    The 53-year-old recording star, whose legal name is Artis Leon Ivey, was also ordered to perform 45 days of community service under a negotiated plea deal sparing him from prison, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
    The rap artist was charged earlier this month with illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, an offense that carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
    At his hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of carrying a concealed weapon.
    Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for prosecutors, said the rapper could return to court in a year to have his latest felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor, provided he fulfills his community service obligation by then and stays out of trouble with the law.
    Coolio, a Los Angeles-area native, is best known for his 1995 Grammy Award-winning hit "Gangsta's Paradise," the No. 1 U.S. chart-topper that year and one of the best-selling singles of all time.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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