Rap
star Snoop Dogg entered into a no contest plea today (Apr. 11) in order to avoid
serving time in prison. The
rapper was officially charged yesterday (Apr. 10) with gun and drug possession
as a result of a run in with police at the Bob Hope Airport in October of 2006.Snoop
was arrested after police noticed his vehicle parked in a passenger pick up zone.
A search of the car yielded a substantial amout of marijuana. The
rapper was accused of transporting marijuana and a search of Snoop Dogg’s home
turned up a gun, resulting in the rapper being charged with possession of a firearm.
The
rapper faced up to four years in prison if the case had gone to trial."Snoop
accepts full responsibility for these matters," said his attorney Donald
Etra in a statement. "He understands that, while he has every reason to seek
security and protection, he cannot have a gun in his own vehicle, and he must
only employ licensed security personnel. By the same token, although Snoop possesses
a medical marijuana certificate, he recognizes, he cannot possess more marijuana
than permitted by that law," explained Etra. Although
he was able to avoid prison time, Snoop will be required to perform 800 hours
of community service and faces five years formal probation. The
judge stated that 400 of those hours could involve Snoop’s popular youth football
league. "Snoop
appreciates the courtesy and cooperation extended to him by the Los Angeles District
Attorney’s Office, which was very helpful in resolving these matters," Etra
said in a statement. The
no contest plea ends one case, but the rapper still has a court appearance next
month to answer charges stemming from a Sept. incident at John Wayne Airport.
Police
claim the rapper had a collapsible police baton in his laptop bag as he attempted
to pass through a security check point on Sept. 27.A
hearing will be held in May related to those charges.Snoop
Dogg’s recent UK tour with Sean "Diddy" Combs was canceled because the
rapper was banned from the country, after a fight erupted at London’s Heathrow
Airport involving Snoop and his entourage and airport security.
