KTLA

Rapper Coolio Charged After Firearm Allegedly Discovered in Bag at LAX

Rapper Coolio is pictured in a file photo. (Credit: John P. Lindsay / Los Angeles Times)

Weeks after a firearm was allegedly found in his backpack at LAX, rapper Coolio has been charged in the case, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.

Coolio faces a felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon with two prior convictions, according to a DA’s news release. He was convicted in 2001 of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, and in 2009 on a charge of possessing a cocaine base.

The rapper, whose legal name is Artis Leon Ivey, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17 after a handgun was allegedly found in his bag while he was going through security screening, prosecutors said.

His arraignment is scheduled to take place Thursday at the Airport Branch of the L.A. County Superior Court.

The possible maximum sentence in the case is three years in state prison, according to the DA’s office.

No additional information was released.

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