Snoop Dogg enters 'not guilty' plea

Snoop Dogg has pleaded not guilty to charges of being in possession of a deadly weapon.

The rapper failed to appear at Orange County Superior Court in Los Angeles, but he entered the plea through his lawyer Donald Etra.

Snoop Dogg was stopped by airport security at John Wayne Airport after security screens allegedly alerted police to a collapsible baton in his carry on bag last September.

If found guilty, the rapper faces a maximum three-year prison sentence.

Etra said: "Snoop's not guilty plea says it all. The item he's charged with was a movie prop, not a weapon. Snoop never intended it to be used as anything other than a prop."

However a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney Susan Schroeder said that the city has pursued charges against the rapper because of his "apparent and continued disregard for the law", reports BBC 6 Music.

The rapper is still waiting to hear whether he has been charged with further weapons and drugs possession allegations from two separate arrests last year.