Ja Rule has received a two-year prison sentence following a guilty plea on a 2007 gun possession charge.
Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins) made the plea deal earlier today in Manhattan State Supreme Court. He faced up to four years if found guilty at trial.
On July 23, 2o07, Ja Rule was stopped by police for speeding after finishing up a concert the Beacon Theater venue. Authorities searched his Maybach vehicle on suspicion of marijuana use, and found a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun.
Rule will be officially sentenced in February 2011. In November, the rapper had just completed a tour of Moscow, and performed in Iraq for American troops.
At press time, Ja Rule could not be reached for comment.
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Two years sounds very steep, but I’m not sure how many priors Ja Rule has either. Rappers are good for catching gun cases due to members of their entourage carrying around illegal firearms. This still seems excessive, but also keep in mind what’s happened to Prodigy, Lil Wayne, and even NFL player Plaxico Burress when they’ve caught gun charges in NY. Each and every one of them has had to serve time.
Rappers have to realize they are targets, especially when you’re riding around in a vehicle that’s worth about $250,000. We saw what happened to T.I. a few months back when he was in his Maybach in Los Angeles. Tough break for Ja.
