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Lil Wayne Hit With Federal Weapons Charge, Faces Max Sentence of 10 Years If Convicted


Trace William Cowen
Complex•November 17, 2020

Lil Wayne has received a federal weapons charge in connection with a December 2019 plane search in Florida.

Per TMZ, who reported on the charge on Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida has charged Weezy with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. If convicted, the sentence could be as high as 10 years. A court appearance is slated for December.

With the plane's search, which occurred ahead of its final stop in California, Miami-Dade police were acting on what the Miami Herald said at the time was "a tip about weapons and marijuana." Federal agents were alerted in order to secure a search warrant to give the private plane a look at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

In a statement Complex on Tuesday, Weezy's attorney Howard Srebnick explained that his client has been charged for "possessing a gold-plated handgun" in his luggage while traveling on the plane. Srebnick also highlighted the fact that there is "no allegation that he is a dangerous person."

Here's the statement in full:

Carter is charged with possessing a gold-plated handgun in his luggage on a private plane. There is no allegation that he ever fired it, brandished it, used it or threatened to use it. There is no allegation that he is a dangerous person. The charge is that because he was convicted of a felony in the past, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Although the Supreme Court has not yet decided the constitutional question, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently wrote an appellate dissenting opinion in which she stated that “Absent evidence that he either belongs to a dangerous category or bears individual markers of risk, permanently disqualifying from possessing a gun violates the Second Amendment."

In 2009, Weezy—whose 2020 creative output has included Funeral and the non-album singles "Thug Life" and "NFL"—pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge and ultimately served eight months.