Rapper Lil Wayne Pleads Guilty to Gun Charges

The Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne entered a guilty plea on Thursday to an attempted weapon possession charge.

The 27-year-old rapper had previously pleaded not guilty to the illegal gun possession charge that was expected to carry a prison sentence of at least three and a half years if convicted. Some legal experts now expect Lil Wayne to receive one year in jail.

In the meantime, he is free on bail while awaiting his February sentencing.

The charge stems from events which occurred on July 22, 2007, during which Manhattan police pulled over the recording artist's tour bus, claiming they had smelled marijuana smoke drifting out of the bus door as it left a concert venue minutes earlier. Once in the bus, police say the rapper tried to conceal a Louis Vuitton bag containing an unlicensed gun.

Lil Wayne's defense lawyer, Stacey Richman, initially claimed the gun didn't belong to her client, and the DNA testing techniques linking the rapper to the firearm were too tenuous to offer proof. Lil Wayne has since acknowledged ownership of the .40 caliber semi-automatic.

The artist behind the hit album Tha Carter is also scheduled to face trial in Arizona on felony drug and weapons possession charges.