Archive for Court Cases

Game Wins Motion To Get Seized Money Back

A court ruled yesterday (Nov. 14) that rapper The Game will get his money back.

He won a motion, filed to retrieve $40,000 seized from his Glendale home last May and the judge granted it, according to TMZ.

As SOHH previously reported, Game (born Jayceon Taylor) is being accused of making criminal threats, possessing a firearm in a school zone, and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer; all the result of an incident that took place at South L.A.’s Rita Walters Educational Learning Complex on February 24. The Game pled guilty to all charges in September.

The entertainment news outlets cameras caught up with the west coast emcee as he was leaving court. The first thing the rapper apparently wanted to do after leaving his motion hearing was announce that his infatuation with fallen pop princess Britney Spears is over.

“Naw, I’m over Britney. I seen a picture where she had some extensions in her hair and some fishnet stockings with like Wonder Woman panties. I don’t know where she was coming from or where she was going, but she wasn’t coming to my house with that on,” Game told the cameras. “I’m breaking up with Britney.”

The rapper also gave a quick tour of his new candy red flatbed truck, with red and black leather seats with “The Game” monogrammed into the headrests.

“I’m gonna start my own landscaping business,” he said. “I really deal with like sunflowers and tulips, daisies … I don’t do roses.”

Amid other ramblings, he did offer his condolences to Kanye West in the loss of the Louis Vuitton Don’s mom just last week.

Game and Ye collaborated on “Wouldn’t Get Far,” among other songs.

T.I Has been released on house arrest

Following his announcement one week ago today that he would delay his decision until today as to whether or not T.I. can be released, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman has agreed to free T.I.

“Right now [T.I.’s] on his way home to enjoy his children, his family, and his freedom,” T.I.’s lead attorney, Dwight L. Thomas, said to HipHopDX.com late this afternoon. “He’s under restrictions, but he’s at home. And you know the old saying, there’s no place like home.”

Facing federal weapons charges [to learn all the details of the case click here and here], T.I.’s lawyers requested that their client be released on bond while he awaits trial.

Last Friday (October 19th) T.I.’s attorneys presented a bond proposal to the court of $2.2 million dollars to procure the freedom of their client. They also offered to have T.I. placed in 24-hour-a-day monitored home confinement, which would mean T.I. is essentially imprisoned in his home until trial.

Judge Baverman requested that T.I.’s attorneys present a court approved home monitor. He also ordered that T.I. post $2 million in cash for bond – not the $500,000 cash deposit his lawyers had initially proposed – plus the equity in all the property he owns.

This afternoon Judge Baverman ordered T.I. released on a $3 million bond.

$1 million of that bond was secured by T.I.’s Henry County home. The remaining $2 million for the bond came in the form of two cashier’s checks provided by T.I. and Atlantic Records.

“We had a very fair judge,” says Mr. Thomas. “He followed the law. We’re pleased [with his decision]. Given the circumstances of this case, that was a reasonable [bond] proposal. And it was reasonable for the judge to impose the conditions [for release] that he did. Everything that has been done has been very reasonable considering the circumstances of this case.”

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, during today’s hearing Judge Baverman not only voiced concern about the possibility that T.I. might flee, but more pressing that friends or fans of T.I. might attempt to contact witnesses or informants in the case.

“If any threats befall [them]… the court will be looking to you,” Baverman said.

“Yes, your honor,” T.I. replied.

“Do you understand that?” Baverman asked T.I. after repeating the warning again.

“Yes, your honor,” he answered.

Judge Baverman said that only T.I.’s attorneys can contact victims, witnesses and informants. If anyone else does, T.I. could be arrested and face additional charges.

Judge Baverman has agreed to T.I.’s attorneys’ initial proposal that their client be released to home confinement. T.I. will be monitored 24-hours-a-day by Judicial Corrections Services, Inc. (which is run by one-time acting Fulton County Sheriff Robert McMichael) and cannot leave his home except under limited circumstances, including medical appointments and court appearances. He is allowed three visitors at a time, but they must first submit to criminal background checks.

Additionally, T.I. cannot have any safes in his home. This morning federal agents and representatives from the monitoring service searched his home to ensure it was free of contraband. They have since secured it and have let no one else in since their sweep.

As part of the general conditions of his release on bond T.I. must also submit to random urinalysis, and cannot consume any alcohol.

As of today, no future court dates in this case have been set. “At some point in time the judge will set a date for us to have what we call a federal pre-trial conference,” explains Mr. Thomas. “They’ll do that, and the judge will get a status update as to where we are, what type of challenges we will be filing, or what type of hearings we will need in the future. That pre-trial conference will be set probably within the next 20 days.”

Judge Baverman will handle all pre-trial matters such as these, but U.S. District Judge Charles Pannel is the man who will be deciding T.I.’s fate once, or if, his case reaches trial.

Unfortunately, fans waiting to hear directly from T.I. regarding this case will likely be waiting for some time to hear his words. “None can take place without court approval,” Mr. Thomas says of any interviews with T.I. “And no interviews can take place at his home.”

But Mr. Thomas makes clear that even though T.I.’s supporters can’t hear from him, that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten them. “He sends his well-wishes to his fans,” says Mr. Thomas. “He thanks them for all of their support.”

T.I. Granted $3 Million Bond, According To Report

Rapper T.I. will be released on $3 million bond — $1 million secured by his Atlanta-area house and the rest in cash — but he must remain under house arrest until his trial on gun charges, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris Jr.) is charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

T.I.’s attorneys brought to the bond hearing two cashier’s checks totaling $2 million provided by the rapper and Atlantic Records, according to the Journal-Constitution.

Baverman put the singer under house arrest at a home in Georgia’s Henry County (further details were not available at press time). T.I. must also submit to monitoring, 24 hours a day, by a private monitoring service at his own expense. The only times T.I. will be allowed to leave the home will be for medical appointments and court appearances; he’s also been forbidden from owning firearms and is not allowed to have contact with any witnesses or informants in his case, according to The Associated Press. He is also not allowed to have any safes in his house or car, according to the Journal-Constitution.

Noting that T.I has a team of powerful lawyers, Baverman said, “You shouldn’t do anything that will undermine their ability to represent you.”

At press time, T.I. had not yet been released from jail, but he is expected to be freed before the end of the day, as soon as he posts bond — which, his lawyers assured, would not be a problem. One of the rapper’s attorneys, Ed Garland, argued to Baverman that, based on the amount of money his client will have to put up, there was no reason why T.I. shouldn’t be released immediately.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Alley countered that the facts of the case suggest the rapper should be kept in custody, pending trial; however, he said that if the judge ordered him released on bond, the government wouldn’t oppose it.

On Friday morning, according to AP, federal agents and representatives from the monitoring service searched the home where T.I. will be staying for the foreseeable future, making sure it was free of contraband. They secured it and no one has been allowed inside since.

Prosecutors allege that T.I., 27, asked his bodyguard to buy three machine guns and two silencers on his behalf, an act that is illegal because, as a convicted felon, T.I. is not allowed to possess or purchase firearms. His bodyguard, whose name has not been released, was arrested on October 10 after he attempted to make the purchases without legally registering the sale, using money that, according to an affidavit, was taken out of one of the rapper’s bank accounts on his orders.

At a hearing last week, it was revealed that T.I. had up to a half-pound of marijuana in his vehicle at the time of his arrest, in addition to three handguns. If convicted, T.I. will almost certainly face prison time, which could run up to 10 years, as well as a $250,000 fine for each charge.

The rapper, who has a number of film and musical projects on hold pending the outcome of his trial, has received words of support from many members of the hip-hop community.