T.I. back in prison after luxury-bus ride to halfway house

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

T.I. was back in federal custody Friday in Atlanta, having gone back behind bars less than a day after his Wednesday release from federal prison in Arkansas.

Seems the Federal Bureau of Prisons had a problem with the luxury bus used by T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., to get to the Atlanta halfway house where he was supposed to spend the final month of his 11-month probation-violation sentence.

‘We are awaiting the opportunity to quickly resolve whatever the issue may be that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has with T.I.’s method of transportation -- bus -- from Arkansas to Atlanta, so that T.I. can return to the halfway house to complete the remaining days of his sentence,’ attorney Steve Sadow said in an email to Reuters. Tip’s sentence is slated to end Sept. 29.

On Friday, the rapper was still being held in the medium-security U.S. penitentiary in Atlanta, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator. He went in Wednesday night.

Prisoners moving from a low-security facility to a halfway house are allowed to travel via private transportation, unescorted, according to TMZ. Team T.I. reportedly told authorities he’d be riding in a van of some sort, sources told the website, leaving out the minor details that it would be a high-end rap-star tour bus, which he boarded under the watchful lenses of VH1 cameras.

Sadow pointed out that prison officials watched his client board the bus, telling CNN there was no intent to mislead anyone about the ride. No drugs or alcohol were involved, he said. T.I.’s wife, Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cottle, told TMZ that authorities ‘walked him over, took pics and told him good luck in life,’ and should have told them at the time to use a van instead, if the bus was a problem.

RELATED:

T.I. sentenced to 11 months in prison for probation violations

Rapper T.I. out of prison early, headed to a halfway house for a month

Rapper T.I. and wife Tiny arrested on drug possession charges in West Hollywood

-- Christie D’Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville