In a dramatic turn of events, rapper Lil Wayne changed his plea on charges of illegal weapons possession to guilty yesterday.
As previously reported, Wayne was arrested in 2007, following a search of his tour bus when a police officer discovered a .40 calibre handgun. Wayne's lawyers argued that the police officer had illegally boarded the bus. But she said she boarded the vehicle because she had reason to believe marijuana was being consumed on it. She admitted she never saw anyone smoking the drug, but said she could smell it and did see smoke.
Wayne has always previously denied the gun charges, his manager even went so far as to claim that the gun was his on a VH1 TV show. Meanwhile, whether or not the gun itself could be submitted as evidence has been a topic of much debate in the courts. However, following the news, which we reported yesterday, that the prosecution believed it had DNA evidence that could link Lil Wayne to the gun, which a judge subsequently ruled could by used in court, it seems the rapper got cold feet.
Had he continued to plead not guilty, the trial was due to begin on 20 Jan. If found guilty, Wayne faced a minimum of three and a half years in prison. Having changed his plea to guilty, it is now expected that he will serve between eight months and a year in jail.