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The 53-year-old recording star, whose legal name is Artis
Leon Ivey, was also ordered to perform 45 days of community
service under a negotiated plea deal sparing him from prison,
according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District
Attorney's Office.
The rap artist was charged earlier this month with illegal
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, an offense that
carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
At his hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on
Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of carrying a
concealed weapon.
Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for prosecutors, said the rapper
could return to court in a year to have his latest felony
conviction reduced to a misdemeanor, provided he fulfills his
community service obligation by then and stays out of trouble
with the law.
He already had two prior felony convictions on his record, from
2001 for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and in 2009
for possession of cocaine.
The judge told Coolio on Wednesday that if he were found to be
in possession of even a single bullet during the next three
years, he would end up back in court facing jail time for
violating his probation.
The rap star sounded a note of contrition in remarks to
reporters after the hearing, but said his latest brush with the
law resulted from a "mistake."
"It was a misunderstanding," he said. "I do not condone the use
of firearms, legal or illegal. Thanks to the court and the
attorneys handing this for me so I can still do the work that I
do."
According to police who arrested Coolio at the airport on Sept.
17, a stolen, loaded handgun was discovered in his backpack on
the X-ray screening belt as his entourage was going through
security to board a flight en route to a concert.
Coolio, a Los Angeles-area native, is perhaps best known for
this 1995 Grammy Award-winning hit "Gangsta's Paradise," the No.
1 U.S. chart-topper that year and one of the best-selling
singles of all time.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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