News Report on T.I.

rapper T.I. arrested on weapons charges
Feds say he had three unregistered machine guns, two silencers

By JEFFRY SCOTT, TIM EBERLY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 10/13/07

Hours before hip-hop music's biggest night, one of the industry's hottest acts was arrested by federal agents for allegedly buying machine guns.

Atlanta rapper T.I., whose given name is Clifford Harris Jr., was in federal custody Saturday night in his hometown. His arrest came at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards show got under way downtown.

Harris, 27, was charged with two felonies -- possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The arrest was made in the parking lot of a downtown shopping center, which a witness identified as the Walgreens drug store at the corner of North and Piedmont avenues.

Harris was arrested after allegedly trying to purchase the guns from a "cooperating witness" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to federal officials, the witness had been cooperating with authorities since Wednesday, when he was arrested on charges of trying to purchase guns from a federal agent. The witness has been working as Harris' bodyguard since July, authorities said.

"This investigation developed very quickly," Vanessa McLemore, an ATF special agent, said in a statement Saturday night. "We learned only this Wednesday that the cooperating witness was allegedly buying the machine guns for Harris. The cooperating witness told Harris on Thursday that he had obtained the items, and on Friday Harris made it clear that he wanted them delivered to him [Saturday]. Harris then agreed to meet and took possession of the machine guns [Saturday] afternoon."

McLemore said Harris could face "a potentially long prison sentence." He's scheduled to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman on Monday at the federal courthouse in Atlanta