ATF Agents put the 'Hurt" on rapper T.I. who was arrested in Atlanta for buying machine guns from a Fed informant. It's a pretty serious gun charge that could send him to prison for 5 to 10 years and effectively end his rap career.
Now T.I. is already a convicted felon on probation, so he can't legally own any guns let alone have possession of 3 unregistered machine guns and two silencers, not to mention the other 25 weapons stash found at his house.
Hours before his scheduled appearance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards Saturday where he was to receive the "Best CD of the Year" award, the rapper was swooped up by ATF agents and accused of trying to buy the fire power from a man who was cooperating with the feds.
According to a criminal complaint filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was contacted by a licensed firearms dealer earlier this month about a customer who asked about buying a machine gun without registering the weapon.
After attempting to purchase several machine guns from an undercover ATF agent, the unnamed individual — who said he had been a bodyguard for T.I. since July 2007 — was arrested. He said that he was buying the machine guns and silencers for T.I. and began cooperating with the government.
The rapper, born Clifford Harris, was arrested without incident in the parking lot of a K-Mart in Doraville, where he had instructed the bodyguard to buy weapons from what turned out to be an undercover agent. The bodyguard revealed that he had bought about 25 firearms over the past 18 months for the rapper, who is legally barred from owning firearms due to his status as a convicted felon.
T.I.'s girlfriend Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and Grandhustle rappers Mac Boney and Young Dro were also arrested. Mac Boney and Young Dro were not charged with any crimes and released, but Cottle, a former member of the R&B group Xscape, was charged with possession of marijuana and the drug Ecstasy.
Federal prosecutors are moving to keep the rapper detained until his trial, which could be several months away. If convicted, T.I., 27, will likely do prison time.
