The Rapper Lil Wayne could face up to 10 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession charges on Friday, as quoted by the prosecutors.
As a prior offender, Lil Wayne has been charged with criminal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Prosecutors said the gold-plated, .45-caliber handgun carried in a bag on a private flight was loaded.
Lil Wayne aka Dwayne Carter, entered a plea in Miami Feral Court, as per the news released by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
What’s next for Lil Wayne?
In December 2019, he was arrested, as he arrived on a private flight from California at the Opa Locka Executive Airport. Officers had a word with the rapper at the airport on the basis of a tip they received, as confirmed by the official.
There is no word from the rapper’s attorney so far.
A hearing is scheduled for January 28, 2021, where he could be sentenced to ten years in federal prison.
“The federal sentencing guidelines call for substantially lower and I would not look at the maximum exposure to decide anyone’s sentence and all the facts need to be thoroughly reviewed,” Ronald Richards, another attorney for the musician, said in November.
Why the charge?
He is charged this time because he is convicted of a felony in the past, due to which he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
In 2009, Lil Wayne had pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge as a part of a deal with New York prosecutors. This charge came from his arrest in 2007 outside of New York City’s Beacon Theater where a .40-caliber pistol was found on his tour bus.
At that time his attorney has said that the gun belonged to someone else, but Lil Wayne had accepted the plea agreement and was sentenced to a year in prison, from where he was released in eight months.
Convicted felons are banned from possessing guns, under federal law.
