top entertainment headlines for December 11
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Rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty in a federal district court on Friday to illegally possessing a loaded, gold-plated .45-caliber handgun while traveling to South Florida on a private jet last December.
An anonymous tip led officers to the Opa Locka Executive Airport just two days before Christmas in 2019 where officers found Lil Wayne, whose real name Dwayne Carter, whose plane had just arrived from California, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.
After questioning Carter, the five-time Grammy-winning emcee admitted to having a gun in his bag. After getting a search warrant, officers discovered the gold-plated Remington 1911, .45-caliber pistol loaded with six live rounds.
The contents of Carter’s bag also included small amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and oxycodone, according to the U.S. attorney.
Lil Wayne has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon in the state of Florida. (Getty)
Because of a previous felony gun conviction in New York in 2009, Carter is prohibited from owning a firearm.
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The “Fireman” performer has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 28, 2021, and according to TMZ, citing sources connected to the matter, Carter may be granted leniency in the case for owning up to his gaffe.
Carter is free on $ 250,000 bail but had to surrender his passport.
Carter’s attorney detailed the charge in a statement to Fox News last month.
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If convicted, the rapper – real name Dwayne Carter – faces up to 10 years in prison. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File)
“Carter is charged with possession of a gold-plated handgun in his luggage on a private plane,” attorney Howard Srebnick said. “There is no allegation that he ever fired it, brandished it, used it or threatened to use it. There is no allegation that he is a dangerous person. The charge is that because he was convicted of a felony in the past, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.”
His statement continues: “Although the Supreme Court has not yet decided the constitutional question, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently wrote an appellate dissenting opinion in which she stated that “Absent evidence that he either belongs to a dangerous category or bears individual markers of risk, permanently disqualifying [a convicted felon] from possessing a gun violates the Second Amendment.”
Meanwhile of his client’s guilty plea, Srebnick said he considered a motion to suppress the search of the plane as a violation of the rapper’s constitutional rights. However, Carter, he said, wanted to accept responsibility.
“I must say I thought it was a very viable motion. He has decided not to pursue a motion to suppress,” Srebnick said.
If convicted, Carter faces up to 10 years in prison.
A spokesperson for Carter did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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