T.I. appeared in court today October 15th for a hearing that started at 2:00PM, flanked by his team of lawyers that included
Ed Garland,
Steve Sadow,
Don Samuel,
Janice Capek,
Kristen Wright and
Dwight Thomas.
The courtroom was packed, as he stood before
Judge Charles Pannell Jr.
Prosecutors chastised the Grammy Award winning rapper for violating the terms of his federal probation for attempting to purchase machine guns and silencers in October of 2007 and wanted to send him away for two years.
During the hearing, a small fire broke out on the side of the courthouse, causing a stir, but the proceedings continued.
The rapper's defense attorneys argued that drugs in his system were the result of a root canal and
T.I. admitted to using the drugs, after he had dental surgery.
Judge Charles Pannell Jr. sentenced
T.I. to the prison sentence, after the Atlanta native and his wife
Tameka "Tiny" Cottle were caught in Los Angeles on September 1st, in possession of a controlled substance, which was later revealed to be ecstasy.
Additionally, the rap star tested positive for drugs the following day and was traveling with a convicted felon named
Cortez "C-Rod" Thomas, who allegedly helped the rapper set up the purchase of illegal weapons that
T.I. was originally arrested for, which further violated the terms of his probation.
The rapper asked the judge to sentence him to rehab for a drug addiction, but he was sentenced to the 11 months in prison, instead.
T.I., born
Clifford Harris Jr., was released from prison in March, after serving a year in prison for attempting to purchase the machine guns and silencers prior to the BET Awards in October of 2007.
After
T.I. was released from prison, he appeared to be on the right path, hitting the studio to record his highly anticipated come back album King Uncaged, while promoting his #1 box office movie,
Takers.
During an interview with CNN's
Don Lemon,
T.I. said that he was "tired" and vowed to turn his life around. The rap star also apologized to anyone he may have hurt, or disappointed due to his arrest.
"The only thing that I can say, man, is that all people who have supported me, who were behind me, who believed in me, who were disappointed and were let down, I just offered my sincerest apologies, and I will dedicate my life no matter how long it takes to earn your trust back and to make you proud yet again," T.I. said.
"I'm tired. I'm wore out," the rap star continued.
"I don't have the age, the energy or just the attitude to move forward and continuing in this cycle in this ongoing process of destruction and disparity in my life. I've got too many depending on me and counting on me. I can't do it."
According to reports,
T.I. will return home and start his sentence shortly.
