For a second, ignore the fact that this is a Hip-Hop website.... during this period, close your eyes and imagine that you are a judge in the court of law. Now imagine that you had a suspect who was caught purchasing several illegal weapons. Incorporate the fact that he is not allowed to purchase or own any fire arms because of past offenses. But before you jump to any conclusions, also remember that he is a convicted felon who has had serious run ins with the law on numerous occasions. To most people, the decision would be simple. You would give him a heavy sentence. If only life worked this way! Instead of you giving this man the jail time that many would expect him to receive, he cops a plea deal where he could do as little as two years. Does anyone find this a little strange?
The stated scenario above is rapper T.I.'s reality. After being arrested on federal gun charges in October of 2007, Rapper T.I. has struck a plea deal in which he will do 1,500 hours of community service by talking to youth groups around the country, followed by about 12 months in prison. But the amount of prison time he has to do, can be extended or reduced depending on his fulfillment of the terms of the deal and good behavior. While fans everywhere are celebrating for such a slap on the wrist for the self proclaimed "King Of The South", many others are beginning to wonder how a man with such an extensive criminal record could have gotten off with what sums up to be a 'slap on the wrist' for a federal charge. So, the brain trusts at defsounds.com got together and created a theory on how he got such a light sentence. Let's first look at T.I's previous criminal record.
Exhibit A- Before, the gun charges, T.I. already had a laundry list of criminal offenses, as well as parole violations. Here's a look at his record, dating back to 1997.
Nov. 1997 arrested in Georgia for distribution of cocaine, manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance, and giving authorities a false name. He was later sentenced for this crime serving seven months in jail and released on seven years of probation.
Sept. 2003 - arrested in Florida for striking an officer, trespassing and disorderly conduct
Dec. 2003 - warrant issued in Geogia for violating parole
Apr. 2004 - sentenced in Georgia to three years in jail; served less than a yearJan. 2005 - sentenced in Florida to 18 months' probation and 75 hours of community service
May 2005 - released from Georgia jail on $25,000 bond
2005 - arrested for threatening man outside Atlanta strip club; charge dismissed.
Side Bar -
Even law experts are perplexed by the deal that T.I. was given. Atlanta defense lawyer, Page Pate, said, " Cases like T.I.'s usually leave defendants with at least a 5 year sentence. There are a lot of people who are sitting serving time in federal prison right now who would love to talk to schools and churches and other community groups to serve some of their time, but they can't do that because they don't have his celebrity."
Exhibit B-
The common penalty for a weapons charge of this caliber would be a minimum of 5 years, with a 250,000 dollar fine for every weapon purchased. With a credible criminal record, that sentence would usually move up to 10+ years very easily with little argument.
Dont jump the Gun Yet-
Now before I continue it is important to remind you that T.I's sentencing is still not official, which means that after the 1500 hours of community service, that one year sentence can still be boosted up to 5-10 years depending on how the judge feels, and although this may seem like a strange punishment, it is not the first time that a raper has received a sentence. Case in point, Fabolous had something similar to this a couple of years ago, although his crime was not as serious.
So now that we are all caught up with the general information lets take a look at a couple of things that might make you scratch your head if you take a closer look.
On October 4th, 2007, T.I. is arrested in Georgia for buying and possessing automatic weapons.
For a while, there's really nothing going on but updates of T.I. and his status on house arrest then all of a sudden on March 12th Details surrounding the murder of T.I.'s personal assistant and friend, Philant Johnson, emerge.
In an article written on Sohh.com, sources from Atlanta radio station "V103", claim that authorities know who the triggerman is and have also learned the motive behind the crime through another unrelated arrest. Up until this point the shooting had been shelfed as a cold case [ a case with no leads], but out of nowhere the cops get a lead and the case has life again. Then just a couple of day's later T.I. Gets his plea deal.
To those who have not been following, this seems like nothing more than a mere coincidence, but lets take a step back to look at the guns that T.I. bought. According to most of the reports, he was trying to purchase three Machine guns and two silencers, along with his attempt to purchase these weapons, he also had three pistols in his car, one which was loaded. From someone looking in from the outside, it would seem that T.I. must have really had it in for someone to take such a risk and attempt to buy weapons of that caliber. But then the question would be.... Who could bring out this vicious intent out of T.I.? What would motivate a man that has everything to even consider reacting that way when he had everything to lose?
The answer is quite simple.The only person from what we know that might have had that ability would have to be the man that killed TIPS close friend and assistant, Philant Johnson. What else would drive him to purchase weapons meant for destruction other than revenge? When he gets caught, his plans would clearly have been thrown to the wayside seeing that he now had gun charges to beat. So the easiest thing to do would be to throw the one you were after under the bus. With jail time imminent, and revenge still burning inside of him, dropping the dime on his friend's murderer might have been the the key to his deal.
TIP would get some time, but nothing compared to what he might have received, and the cops get to nab a killer. And just to make things a little nicer, they throw in the community service so that TIP can clean up his image so if at the end of the year he gets a slap on the wrist, it can be justified with no suspicion.
After looking over everything and putting the pieces together it becomes clear that the possibility of T.I.P. breaking the ultimate street code very possible. Maybe he did snitch to get a kinder sentence. Maybe just maybe this theory is correct and he gave in the name of the man that killed his friend. The possibility that he gave up the names of some gun traffickers is still very likely as well, but we may never know. So as he begins his rehabilitation process, and starts his conquest to knock out those community service hours and clean up his act, fans will still ponder over how such a deal went through. But regardless of what we may think or feel, he is his own man and must stand by his own decisions. One year from now we may say goodbye to the "King Of The South" for a long time, or the one year sentence might stick, and we will all sit and wonder out loud, "Just how did he pull that off??".
COMMENTS
damn are those the ones he bought? thats some heavy shit
THOSE SMGs got sum big azz cartrigages,I dont think he snitched, i think it was sumone who snitched on him and didnt directly catch him like they said they did,and the money,money talks bullshyt walks,R.KELLY IS THE WORLDS BIGGEST chilmolester and look it him he still chillen in neverland wit micheal and shyt,its the money he payin out his azz tho,Money makes alot of things go away,yall kno he got that white ppl money,and them white ppl want that money,whomever snitched on him should be shot,bich azz security gaurds mann,karmas a bich he gone get his,and damn those cartridges is heavy them like 50 to 200 round drums look like,daaaammnn
GOOD ARTICLE SHOULD DO THIS MORE OFTEN
Its not my style to call a nigga a rat when I dont know shit about his business. Thats a heavy label to be throwing around.
I will say one thing though-
The double drum magazine that is laying under the MP5 holds enough ammo to kill a hundred niggas.
Then you got the 100 round drum that goes with the chopper.
Thats only 2 of the guns.
WHAT THE FUCK DID TI NEED FIREPOWER LIKE THAT FOR????
I think the reason he got off light is because he told the feds he was going after BIN LADEN!!!!
thats some kinda shit you see on scarface
^^^haha he said he got off easy cause they were going after bin laden
hmm good read. ima buy because its evident through his music, personality etc that tip has a big ego..he only actually cares about himself. he gets caught snitching it dont matter cause hes outta jail..may lose fans but he got enough business plans to keep his money up and at the end of the day thats all that matters to him...really cant blame him
What the fuck he need dem guns for, he not scarface!
i don't see an scenario where he gets out with such a slap on the wrist, other than snitching, obviously they are letting the little fish go so they can nab the major distributors.
whatever but even if he was out to get revenge, unless he was going against room full of mobs, i just don't see why he would carry that much firepower.
Regardless tho, it will always be fuel to the fire for the Hip-hop critics, thus solidifying their case Hip-hop advocating violence. its a shame!
"choppers is still hid,
they catch me wit it fuck it Im doin my lil bid"
Its WRONG to call a nigga a rat when you dont know his situation. Period. If you got knocked and had the cake to get a great lawyer YOU WOULD. It aint always snitchin man. Money talks.
i dont like callin' someone a snitch, but it is what it is. with all that info its easy to see why one could come to the conclusion that tip is a snitch.
I DOUBT HE SNITCHED? SNITCHED ON WHO?
HE WAS GETTING THAT MONEY ON THE OTHER SIDE, SO OF COURSE HE PROLLY HAD CONNECTIONS IN THE JUDICIAL SIDE, N HAD PEOPLE PULL SUM STRINGS, EVERYBODY HAS A PRICE
All yall really need to stop hating on the kid T.I. he defiently wasnt snitching, you have to understand that this man has kids. everybody is human and everybody makes mistakes. family first so u take tht into consideration before any1 else
good article but damn tip man i know you didnt man....well he probably did...
dude
if some1 killed my friend and i couldnt kill them back
i would def. snitch
that aint a question if you were in his sitch..
and fuck whoever was his fan before this article, and now doesnt like him caz this may be the case... yall fake
real talk i dont even kno cuz niggas tend to crack under pressure so u never kno wat he did
dude like really, all those guns are unnecessary.
next time somebody interviews him, they better get the balls to ask him why he got that firepower
crazy
but,some people act stupid some he might need them for his protection. bitch azz niggas talk to much. But, when TI get out he still going to do her thing. going TI is still your fan.
4 SHOW NOT THE ONES HE GOT BUT CLOSE
i bet he paid the judge
stop hatin on Ti he didn't no judge
maybe the judge was a black brother and thought... FUCK THA POLICE!
thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard...
lol! i dont think t.i. snitched.money talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!JUST STAY OUTTA SHIT.FOR NOW ANYWAY!!!!!!!!TILL EVERYTHING DIES DOWN A LITTLE.
yea i thought it was the other way around. I remember reading in an article that his bodyguard had been caught trying to purchase the weapons then set TIP up to lessen his fall.
THIS SHIT IS DUMB!!!! IF T.I. KNEW WHO SHOT HIS BOY, TOLD THE POLICE WHO IT WAS, THEN HE NOT NO FUCKING SNITCH. ITS DUMB MOTHERFUCKERS LIKE THIS WHO START RUMORS CUZ THEY AIN'T GOOD ENOUGHT TO WRITE A GOOD LEGIT STORY SO U GON START A WHOLE CAMPAIGN ABOUT SOME WHAT IF SHIT. SNITCHING IS WHEN YOU TELL ON SOMEBODY YOU DID A CRIME WITH!!!!!!!!!!! TO GET YO SELF OUT OF TROUBLE!
I dont usually do this but your ignorance has urged me to respnd.... you must not know how to read because if you did you would see that it clearly say's
"Just to set the record straight, this is not being written to bash T.I. It is merely an attempt to analyze the reasoning behind these judges decisions."
That is all
Honestly Thats still snitching. My boy got shot in the head by this nigga we all know. Literaly everybody in my hood know this nigga did this even the victim my boy L's and he didnt tell the cops shit. Thats the code. Im not gonna say it isnt ignorant but if a nigga murk somebody close to me I would take matters in my own hands. WTF the cops gonna do. Not a damn thang and we all know that.
I disagree with you RD32. I've been a T.I. fan since I'm Serious and I don't feel like this is an article to put him down. Although I don't necessarily agree with the "snitch" accusation. Like really, if somebody killed one of my homies and I was in a position to get him myself, I'd send the cops after him too.
i agree that was GOD blessing T.I. because he was going to do somebody dirty and he was really going to jail then, so him getting caught was a blessing he was spared the time he would have got for da murder and da nigga he was about to kill is going to rot in jail any ways now he can keep getting that $$$$ and go on with his life call it what you want he"ll be around....oh check my music on myspace billion dollar bruce..... da best out i'll quit if you think different
dude aint snitch he just got his money right ya dig
finally.. someone realised this. he got his cake up
yea my dude he paid three mill just to get out you think aint gone pay his lawyer shit to get his azz out the loop look at the oj case all the evidence n the world and he still got off and they is tryn say he a snitch he just got that doe and a good ass lawyer.
Yo My Nigga T.I. A G Man He Be Talkin Bout Trappin and He Really Did It Nigga And He Really Will Shoot Yo Ass If You Jump Stupid Did You See Them Guns That Niggas Was Gonna Go Rainbow Six On Em Must Had Been T.I.P.
shit dat nigga snitched....theres is no other way possible for him to get a deal like dat without snitching...hip hop police want gangsta rappers to snitch and T.I can snitch and nobody will ever know or be sure of it so he aint got nothin to worry bout if he does pull it off. he'll just leave yall dummies wondering
WHY NOT RAT? BEACUSE HIS SO CALLED BOY OR BODYGAURD OR WHO EVA THE FUCK HE IS THAT PURCHASED THE GUNS FOR HIM RATTED HIM OUT.
once again if you caked up like this nigga is you dont have to snitch you just thrw a lotta money lawyer and watch em get at the these judges hills anyways i heard that the police fucked some where in the case when they raided his house so that is some leway to cut a deal with this nigga is to in these streets to b talkin to the police
waz up nigga hi are you doing not musch and
WELL WRITTIN ARTICLE.....MAYBE UR ON 2 SOMETHING
LoL this guy said Lil Scrappy... LOL
The reality is that money buys freedom. Whos to say that his laywer and the Judge dont golf and hang together?? Everyones whos watched the news, ever, has seen that even murderers can get off easy. MAn under the right circumstances and the right money anythings possible. I never label a grown ass man a snitch, especially if I dont know dude. Callin TI a snitch is ignorant.
Mixtape master i only agree w u that maybe the jugde's kids bump T.I and was daddy u can't do that. But on the real, i don't think he snitched, He might have ratted out on the killer, and most likely he's on the DEA, FBI, CIA and ATF's pay list as an informant, cause i'm from the hood too, and alot of the big time drug dealers in MIAMI are on the cops payroll. The Cops wanna know that when shit happens on the street they could come to u and u point them in the right direction. alot of u guys on this site aint trill, y'all just some kids looking at the game from the outside but don't know the true facts about how shit works..
nigga i'm from miami too, so what the fuck, u don't know shit nigga.
for real man all those big time niggas had to get that way some how and only few are legit with it and did it grimy. most of these niggas are on payroll and get immunity for what they report. Niggas need to watch the First 48 sometime.
you dont know shit is what im sayin stop tryna act hood on a board you soft
you serious my nigga what hood you from ?
152 is where im restin at son
152 softies. nigga i'm rep 183'rd and 17'th, i rep North Mia 6 ave. 79 street and 12'th, 62'nd street.
lmao you livin in the suburbs soft ass punk white boy
stfu get of momma computer
anyways, i aint got time to be goign back and forth at it with u, cause u aint shit, and u don't do shit for me, and i don't have to answer to u, and i aint scared of u. I'm blacker that u think, if u wanna get a real island whoppping, let me know aight pussyhole, u just need some attention, and u aint goona get it from me faggit
anyways, i aint got time to be goign back and forth at it with u, cause u aint shit, and u don't do shit for me, and i don't have to answer to u, and i aint scared of u. I'm blacker that u think, if u wanna get a real island whoppping, let me know aight pussyhole, u just need some attention, and u aint goona get it from me faggit
Is that why you miami niggas cant produce a superstar after 20 years (2live crew) in the game?
Internal beef?
Why dont yall niggas just shake hands and hold it down for your city?
P.S.
You can apologize for rick ross anytime now too.
Because theirs no way u could get 1 year probation, and 1 year in jail for that shit. I got caught w maybe 2 ounces of purple haze and these crackers gave me a felony w intent to sell, and possesion, and i was facing 5 years in state pententary on my first offence. so somehting doesn't sound right w his case.
lol fake ass nigga it dont sound right cuz you a broke dude and ti aint
and why you gonna front on a board son ???
real talk you fake and if you was facin 5years the fuck you on the computer ?
i have no reason 2 lie, and have no one to impress, i got my wife and kid, and don't need no one else, no friends, on one. and u aint from miami cause mia niggas don't say "SON" that up in NewYork
if you gots a wife and kid and almost got locked up for 5years why is you on the computer go be a real nigga and support ya 'wifey' and 'kid' instead of wastin ya time on a board frontin
well softy i got a bachelors in IT, so obviously i'm on the compuet all day.
Ok, so you was facin 5 years, ti was facin 20 somethin years, but how much time did you actually get... Shit, I got knocked off 4 an armed home invasion/battery w a deadly weapon & was facin a life sentenc, I ain't snitch on nobody & got 7 years... They always gonna say you facin more than what they gonna give you so they can get you 2 cop out & they can save money from payin 4 a trial...
u lyin dude^^
2 sadamm^
real niggas dont brag bout how long or why they be gettin locked up point blank dude talkin hard on a board sayin he got caught with purp is pussy
niggas just stating the facts, and this is the first time i ever opened up about that shit. and I'm not pround that i got caught. and got a felony, i can't even get a real job now, so what's their to be proud about. stop trying to make a scene out of nothing lil boy
why everybody wanna hate on TI . TI is not a pussy they getting mad because they didn't get him alot of time stop hating snitch azz niggas.
that nigga didn't snitch. Somebody might have, but not that nigga. That's just $$$$ talkin... that nigga is worth too much to be goin to jail!! He might be on parole for bout 15 yrs (lol) bt he ain't goin to jail. If he wa goin to jail, he wouldve been locked up a LONG TIME AGO. Let hm do what he gotta do, and keep makin $$$
if a nigga can beat a case just because he got bread then why them BMF niggaz big meech and big T still locked up? shit them niggaz worth over 250 million dollaz cash.
also the FEDS dont give something for nothing. shit dont work like that. i got a few niggas that are federal as we speak. my cousin is doing 20years right now for making a phone call for a nigga. he got 20 because he had 2 other cases and one was over 12 years ago. if you dont work with them mutha fuckaz they are going to bank yo ass. if you work with them then you going home sooner than later. i have only done state time but i know that federal system and this shit aint right.
Wait so let me get dis right niggas geetin mad b/c of the following issues
a) T.I. gets a lighter prison sentence
b) he gets a chance to be a real voice of reason in somebody hood
c) He might have had something to do with the capture of someone who killed his CLOSE friend
Are u 4 reel my nigga? R u tryin 2 defend a murderer b/c he got snitched on? I can honestly say fuc dat nigga. RIP Big Phil
me myself i aint never mad , but this nigga need to come clean. he got down with them people and he got a deal. if he gave a fuck about his boy then he should of said something when the shit happened, not wait until you catch a mutha fuckin case and then use your friends murder as a get out of jail free card. that nigga snitched and thats that.
yep...lil flip called this dude out on snitchin a while ago...
because i got a bachelors that makes me white? stupid. that's y black people aint goign anywhere, because of the stupid mentality that u got. u should hate a man for the color of his skin. U need to get off the corner and read a book, and if u smoke weed then u should have alot more sense than that. Peace out and have a nice day soft as lil bitch "fr35h killa 305"
Damn dat nigga was tryin to purchase some heat. But i don't think he snitched. Like my boy said he got that white people money...they won't it he got it thats all...
I fail to see how ratting on the person that killed his partner would get T.I. less time. He might have got the guns for that reason, but for T.I to tell the Feds "Here i know who killed my friend, give me less time" Thats ridiculous, seeing as how the case is about him owning and purchasing illegal firearms. The Feds dont care about his friend that was killed.I'm sure they would rather make an example out of T.I. then to worry about some street nigga that killed his friend. If T.I did any sniching it would be on his gun connect.