T.I.’s Bodyguard Sentenced to One Year in Prison
While rapper T.I. is heading off to federal prison to serve his 366 day sentence his former bodyguard Corey Williams is riding in the same boat. Williams is currently serving a one year and one day sentence for his rolE in the incident, which later lead to the rapper's arrest in an Atlanta parking lot two years ago.
In 2007, Williams acted as an informant after purchasing guns and silencers for T.I., which he could not do himself due to his criminal background. Authorities were tipped off when Williams broke federal laws by purchasing a machine gun without registering it. Prior to his arrest Williams had a clean criminal record and reached a plea deal by agreeing to help the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in their sting operation to bring the rapper down.
According to court records, Williams worked for T.I., born Clifford Harris, for a few months before the incident. He was reportedly given money on several occasions to buy a total of nine firearms for the rapper. The 34-year-old wore a wire when meeting with T.I. to complete the exchange. To maintain anonymity in court records he was also given the code name "Confidential Witness" or "CW" which match his initials.
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Although he was facing up to 10 years in prison, T.I. reached a plea deal, which included completing 1,000 hours of community service, in exchange for receiving a shorter sentence. On March 27 he was given 30 to 60 days to report to federal prison. At his sentencing, Judge Charles Pannell Jr. praised the 28-year-old for his community service efforts, which included speaking to young people all over the country about the dangers of gun violence, and helping at-risk youth through his MTV reality show. "I congratulate you on the work you've done so far," he said. "If you had failed, I would have simply sent you to prison." With good behavior T.I. may only spend 8-10 months in prison as opposed to a full year.
While incarcerated T.I. will re-release his platinum-plus album 'Paper Trail' complete with five new songs. He is also working on a new album, which will come out after he completes his prison sentence.
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