Citing his federal prison sentence, prosecutors reject drug case against rapper T.I.

Citing his federal prison sentence on a probation violation, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office announced Monday that it has declined to file criminal charges against Grammy Award-winning rapper T.I.

On Sept. 1, the 29-year-old rapper, whose given name is Clifford Harris, and his 36-year-old wife, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, were in a vehicle in the 9300 block of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood when deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department smelled marijuana coming from their vehicle during a traffic stop, officials said.

At the time of the arrest, T.I., a multi-platinum-album rapper with such hits as "Whatever You Like" and "Dead and Gone," was on probation after serving seven months in prison on weapons charges.

According to the filing rejection obtained by The Times, deputies searching for the source of the odor found four pills of ecstasy in the rapper's pants. Marijuana and other narcotics were found "in possession in one of the passengers," the document said.

Both T.I. and his wife were later booked at the West Hollywood sheriff's station on drug-possession charges.

In rejecting the case, prosecutors cited the federal 11-month prison sentence given the rapper for violating the terms of his probation, stemming from his September arrest.

T.I. faced a 30-year prison sentence in 2007 after an arrest on federal gun charges. He pleaded guilty and accepted a year behind bars plus 1,000 hours of community service that included warning youth about the dangers of gangs and drugs.

-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Rapper T.I. Credit: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Comments

[30 to Life]

Wow! I love T.I. as an artist but i HATE the fact that every celebrity in CA gets a GREAT plea bargain deal. My husband was charged for having a gun (when one was never recovered) and for that alone was given 30 years in state prison. T.I. doesnt care because he will get off doing a year drugs.