Arraignment is scheduled Wednesday for rapper Coolio, who is charged with a felony for allegedly carrying a handgun in a backpack at Los Angeles International Airport.
Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey, was charged Oct. 13 with a single count of felony possession of a firearm by a felon with two priors, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said he has a 2001 conviction for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and a 2009 conviction for possession of cocaine base.
Coolio, 53, was arrested Sept. 17 at LAX. According to Airport Police, officers were called to Terminal 3 on a report of a prohibited item at a TSA screening station. Police seized the bag and detained a person who claimed to own the bag, but officers determined that the bag contained items belonging to one of the suspect’s traveling companions who had already boarded an aircraft.
That companion turned out to be Coolio, who was taken off the plane and admitted the bag was his, police said. He was arrested but released on bail later that day. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
