The rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty on Friday to having illegally carried a gold-plated .45-caliber Glock handgun and ammunition as a felon while traveling on a private jet last year. “Your honor, I plead guilty,” the musician, 38, told the judge during a virtual hearing in Miami federal court. Having been convicted of a gun charge previously, in 2007, Lil Wayne faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 28, though taking responsibility may result in a lighter punishment. Authorities said that in addition to the gun — which Lil Wayne said at the time he had received as a Father’s Day gift — they found cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, heroin, pain killers and prescription-strength cough syrup, along with nearly $26,000 in cash. Howard Srebnick, a lawyer for the rapper, said last month that his client had not been accused of brandishing or using the gun, and questioned why convicted felons had been stripped of their Second Amendment rights.

Source: New York Times December 11, 2020 21:45 UTC