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(AllHipHop News) Texas lyricist Z-Ro will be in court on March 1 to answer a felony drug possession charge from last year.

Z-Ro, real name Joseph Wayne McVey, was arrested in February 2009 when authorities found him with a codeine mixture weighing over 28 grams.

The rapper’s attorney Robert Jones has proclaimed his client innocent, claiming the codeine bottle was a prescription cough syrup medicine assigned to another party.

“Right now, the penalty has been enhanced, so I would have to look that up to see what exactly that is, but I anticipate that he is going to trial because he didn’t do anything, so the penalty is zero,” Jones explained to the Houston Press blog Hair Balls. “They’re trying to ramp up the charges and make him scared so he’ll take something. It is nothing more than a form of intimidation. It doesn’t change the facts of the case at all.”

Z-Ro has released 13 solo albums since 1998. Some of his critically-acclaimed LPs, such as 2006’s I’m Still Livin’, were released while the rapper was incarcerated.Last year, Z-Ro was found not guilty for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

In 2003, Z-Ro served time for a codeine conviction that violated his parole.

Citing his music and industry colleagues, Jones believes his client is telling the truth and would have been ready to face any consequences if he were guilty.

“Everybody who knows his music has told me that he is a purist. And he’s just an honest, forthright person. If he did it, he’ll say he did it,” Jones stated.

Z-Ro’s latest studio album is 2009’s Cocaine, which featured appearances from Gucci Mane, Lil Flip, Mike D, and Big Pokey.