A 2007 Beacon Theater hip-hop concert arrest sends another rapper to prison. In this case, Ja Rule will head to prison for two years. Lest anyone believe him to be a "wanna-be," Ja Rule pleaded guilty, just as Lil Wayne did in response to his arrest at the same event, to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. It is stated on the record for the Police, that he was found with a .40-caliber loaded semiautomatic gun in his pricey, speeding Maybach.
The New York City gun laws are the toughest in the nation and Ja Rule became the latest celebrity to learn a difficult lesson. New York City imposes a mandatory minimum prison term on the gun related offense, in this case a violent felony. The Court takes any offense involving a firearm as extremely serious. In New Jersey, the possession of a gun triggers mandatory jail time, as governed by the Graves Act N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.
Furthermore, the Graves Act requires time periods of parole ineligibility in addition to mandatory prison terms for certain gun offenses, as well as for related offenses committed while in possession of a firearm. These include offenses such as homicide, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact, robbery, and burglary.
If two years seems like a long time, take a moment to consider that he might have gotten 15 years if he had been convicted of the initial weapons charges. He has some time to relax, if that is possible, because he is free at least until his next Court date in February, when a date will first be set for sentencing. His attorney is earning the counsel fees for sure, and demonstrated how crucial a skilled attorney is, whether or not you are a rapper.
The law is gender-blind for sure, at least, because rappers who have done jail time include Foxy Brown, Lil Kim and T.I. Plaxico Burress, the former New York Giants football player was charged with the same crime and received the same sentence last year. In his case, though, he shot himself. Ja Rule's wife and children living in New Jersey, will write and visit, no doubt, and help his time fly. They can be sure, his criminal defense attorney did as well as any could have given the facts of his case. Be sure to contact the best possible defense attorney, should you find yourself charged with any kind of weapons related or other crime.
