The Phnom Penh Post

Rapper gets caught with gun at LAX

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US RAPPER Coolio was given community service on Wednesday after admitting carrying a handgun in a backpack at Los Angeles Internatio­nal Airport.

The weapon was discovered in the bag as a member of the 53-year-old’s entourage went through a security screening checkpoint on September 17, Los Angeles Superior Court heard at a previous hearing.

The man initially claimed to be the owner, but an inspection revealed items in the bag belonging to Coolio, who had already boarded a plane.

The rapper, best known for the chart-topping 1995 song Gangsta’sParadise, was removed from the aircraft and arrested after admitting the bag was his.

Charged under his real name Artis Leon Ivey, he pleaded “no contest” to possession of a firearm by a felon with two prior conviction­s, and was handed 45 hours of community service and put on probation for three years.

“A mistake was made, it was a misunderst­anding. And I do not condone the use of firearms, legal or illegal,” the rapper told reporters.

The rapper already has a 2001 conviction for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and another in 2009 for possession of cocaine base.

Coolio was told he can have the felony count reduced to a misdemeano­r after a year, but if found in possession of even one bullet, he would find himself back in front of a judge.

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