Atlanta rapper T.I.
appeared in court yesterday (May 15) to answer a charge of violating his probation
sentence stemming from a 2003 arrest in Tampa, Fla.
Judge Daniel Perry
ended the probation and T.I. is now free to perform a series of concerts that
had been canceled after a month of turmoil rocked the rapper’s tour.
"All prior
legal matters have been resolved as it relates to T.I.’s probation," T.I.’s
attorney Jonathan Leonard told AllHipHop.com. "He is no longer on probation
for any previous legal incidents."
The outing was
halted after a May 3 shooting fatally wounded T.I.’s assistant and longtime
friend Philant Johnson, 26, of Union City, Ga.
According to police,
the shooting was the result of an altercation that took place earlier in the
evening at an after-hours nightclub.
Police say two
dark SUV’s chased T.I.’s van and opened fire when the vehicle came to a halt
after blowing a tire. Johnson was killed and three others were injured. T.I.
was also in the van but was not injured.
T.I. appeared in
court May 10 to answer a separate charge for allegedly threatening several men
outside an Atlanta strip club in another case, when he was briefly jailed for
violating his probation.
Judge Perry sentenced
the rapper to perform 225 hours of community service in March 2005, after he
pleaded guilty to battery on an officer and violating the terms of his previous
probation.
A few months later,
after he violated probation by driving with a suspended license, T.I. was given
an additional 150 hours of community service.
The Florida warrant
accused T.I. of serving only 10 hours of his community service. The rapper canceled
a planned tour of Japan to answer the charges yesterday.
The rapper’s official
Web site www.trapmuzik.com lists his next scheduled performance at The House
of Blues in Anaheim, Calif., followed by dates in San Diego, Los Angeles, New
York, Washington D.C. and Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
T.I.’s fourth album,
King, was recently certified platinum by the RIAA.
