By Tai Saint Louis
Rapper T.I. pleaded guilty to two counts of of illegally possessing machine guns and silencers, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm shortly around 1:30pm this afternoon during an Atlanta court appearance.
The rapper, born Clifford Harris, Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27, 2009 at which point he will receive a sentence of one year and one day, so long as he meets all of the conditions of his plea agreement, ordered U.S. District Court Judge Charles Pannell, Jr.
Under the agreement entered, T.I. will also serve a total of 1500 hours of community service, divided in increments of 1000 hours before his sentencing, and 500 hours after he completes his prison sentence.
He will in part use the sentence as an opportunity to speak to "at-risk youth," encouraging them to obey the law and avoid situations similar to those he has reportedly faced since 1997.
"We believe this resolution is in the public’s interest," said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias following T.I.’s plea, adding that his agreement to speak to young people should prevent and deter some from committing crimes and ruining their own lives.
The Grand Hustle CEO was also fined $100,000. Once he begins his prison sentence sometime next year, T.I. could have his sentence reduced by about two months, or 15 percent of his total sentence, for good behavior.
T.I. remains on house arrest, where he has been since posting a $3 million bond in October 2007.
Should he fail to meet the terms of his agreement, he faces a sentence of up to 57 months in prison.
Additionally, if Judge Panell feels that the rapper has not accepted responsibility for his actions, he could face an additional 40 months in prison, for a total of 97 months.