T.I. faced a federal judge this afternoon after being arrested over the weekend on felony weapons charges.T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., appeared before US Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman at the United States Courthouse in Atlanta and was denied bail.
After T.I. entered the courtroom with his hands cuffed and his legs shackled, Prosecutors charged Harris with possession of unregistered machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon, after a federal investigation revealed that T.I. was allegedly trying to purchase machine guns in Atlanta.
According to documents released by the ATF, the investigation started 11-days ago, when T.I.'s bodyguard asked a licensed gun dealer at The Gun Store about buying a machine gun and not registering it, as required by law.
On October 2, the dealer reported the incident to the ATF who started an investigation and provided a fictitious cellphone number to an undercover agent posing as a machine gun dealer.
Eight days later on October 10, T.I. called his bodyguard to pick up $12,000 in cash to buy the weapons. The bodyguard met the undercover agent at a K-Mart in Doraville.
T.I.'s bodyguard then gave the agent $2,200 and a .223-caliber pistol in exchange for three 9mm machine guns and two 9mm silencers.
Federal agents then arrested the bodyguard, who revealed he was buying the guns for T.I. and that he had purchased almost 25 firearms over the past 18 months for T.I., who is a convicted felon and legally barred from owning firearms.
In one incident in September, the bodyguard claims that T.I. gave him cash to purchase a Calico 9mm from The Gun Store.
After legally purchasing the weapon, T.I. allegedly invited his bodyguard into his bedroom, where he showed him a walk in safe with a finger-print scanner, tall enough for a person to enter.
Inside of the safe were a number of assault rifles in black duffle bags.
In another incident in September, T.I. asked the bodyguard to purchase a .500 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, which was allegedly given to Grand Hustle rapper Alfamega, who then delivered the weapon to T.I.
The next day, on October 11, the cooperating bodyguard called another bodyguard working for T.I. to discuss security services while agents were listening.
During the conversation, T.I. grabbed the phone and the bodyguard allegedly told T.I. he had "everything for you."
On October 12, T.I. called the bodyguard while federal agents listened and arranged to pick up the guns the next day.
On October 13, around 1:00 PM, T.I. called the bodyguard and asked him to bring the guns to a recording studio.
At the best of ATF agents, the bodyguard arranged to meet in the shopping center parking lot in Atlanta.
T.I. arrived at the parking lot and the bodyguard, who was wired, entered T.I.'s vehicle.
The bodyguard asked the function of a silencer to which T.I. replied "No Flash, no bang."
T.I. then asked the bodyguard what the "E" meant on one of the machine guns.
The bodyguard explained that the "E" meant semi-automatic mode, while the "F" meant fully automatic function, which T.I. Allegedly acknowledged.
T.I. inquired about ammunition, the capacity of the magazines and any change that might be left over from the purchase.
Federal agents then arrested T.I. without incident, recovering three firearms, including one between the drivers seat the center console.
T.I.'s girlfriend Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and Grandhustle rappers Mac Boney and Young Dro were also arrested.
Mac Boney and Young Dro were not charged with any crimes and released while Tiny, who was a member of the girl group Xscape, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of Ecstasy.
A search of T.I.'s home recovered three rifles, two pistols and a revolver in the walk-in closet and safe in his bedroom.
Five of the firearms were loaded.
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