Rapper T.I. Going Back to Prison

On Friday, October 15th, the rapper T.I. was sentenced to return to prison for 11 months for violating his parole. Last month, he was charged with a felony of possession of a controlled substance while being on probation for a 2009 federal gun possession conviction. He has two weeks to turn himself in

Rapper T.I. Released from Prison

The rapper T.I. was released from a federal prison in Arkansas on Tuesday December 22nd. Last May, be began serving his year and a day sentence for illegal possession of firearms and possessing a gun as a convicted felon. After being released from prison, he had to go to Dismas Charities halfway house in Atlanta and will be there for up to three months.

Reggae Star Buju Banton Facing Drug Charges

The Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is facing a drug charge in Florida after being arrested on the charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. His real name is Mark Anthony Myrie and he has been in U.S. Federal custody in Miami since Thursday.

Rapper Serves Prison Time in Arkansas

The rapper T.I. has to report to Forrest City's low-security federal prison by noon on May 26th. He has been sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty in March to federal weapons charges. He has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of his charges in his three count indictment. He will be credited for the 305 days of home detention that he has already served, so he is likely to be at Forrest City prison for only two months. Unless there are custody or security concerns, he will be treated like any other prisoner and will be placed in the general population with the rest of the prisoners. When he is released, he will be on probation for three years and will pay a $100,000 fine as part of his sentence.

Rapper T.I. Receives Prison Sentence

On Friday, the rapper T.I. was sentenced to one year and a day in prison on federal weapons charges. He has 30 to 60 days to start his sentence and has completed nearly 1,000 hours of community service while warning children about the negative effects of drugs, guns, and violence. He still needs to complete 470 more hours. He pleaded guilty in court last March after he was arrested in October of 2007 for trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers before his scheduled appearance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.

Rapper DMX Arrested

The rapper DMX was arrested in Miami on Tuesday by federal authorities for not attending his recent court appearance. He was arrested on a warrant issued by a judge in Phoenix after he didn't attend his court hearing on Friday. DMX was being held at the Miami-Dade County jail and will be taken back to Phoenix. His bond is set at $120,000. He has pleaded not guilty to charges to drug possession, identity theft, and animal cruelty.

Actor Health Ledger’s Drug Inquiry Dropped

Federal prosecutors have chosen not to open a criminal case into how the late actor Heath Ledger was able to get the painkillers that contributed to his death earlier this year. Lately, prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan had been overseeing a Drug Enforcement Administration probe into whether the painkillers found in Ledger’s body were obtained illegally. Prosecutors decided not to open a case because they don’t believe that there is anybody to make responsible for his death. The actress Mary-Kate Olsen was Ledger’s close friend and played a part in this decision because she demanded immunity before answering questions about his death and drug use. A case can still be opened if there is evidence of a crime.

DEA investigators suspect that the painkillers found in Ledger’s body were obtained with false prescriptions and illegally in other ways. The painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone were found in his system. Ledger had also taken anti-anxiety mediation and sleeping pills that were legally prescribed by doctors in California and Texas.

Wesley Snipes Gets to Remain Free For Now

The actor Wesley Snipes is being allowed to remain free on bail as he appeals three federal tax convictions. Judge William Terrell Hodges doesn’t see Snipes as a flight risk and says he is not a threat to the community. The judge granted Snipes’ motion for bail on Thursday pending the appeal of his case. Snipes’ attorneys plan on arguing before the 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the trial judge erred in several ways before and after the recent conviction where Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file his income tax returns.

Wesley Snipes to Appeal Tax Conviction Charge

The attorneys of the actor Wesley Snipes wants to appeal his recent tax conviction, where he was sentenced to three years in prison last week for three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file income tax. Snipes will be free until he is ordered to turn himself in by the federal Bureau of Prisons. His attorneys filed the notice on Thursday for the 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.