September 10, 2008 15:24

Lil Wayne 'hid gun on tour bus'

Hip-hop star denies illegal gun possession charge

Lil Wayne hid a gun on his tour bus after a gig in New York in 2007, a US court heard yesterday (September 9).

The hip-hop star has pleaded not guilty to illegal gun possession, with his lawyer saying the charge should be dismissed because the police had no reason to search the bus after the gig in Manhattan on July 22.

Officer Diane Hornung had told a pre-trial hearing that she got on board the bus because she smelt marijuana.

Hornung added that she then saw Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, sat on his bed in his underwear, trying to hide a bag.

While he got dressed, she looked inside the bag and found a loaded .9mm handgun, the court heard.

Lil Wayne's lawyer Stacey Richman says police stopped and boarded the bus without probable cause and therefore the search was illegal.

At yesterday's hearing, Hornung acknowledged that when she boarded the bus she did not see anyone smoking marijuana, although she did see one of Wayne's entourage trying to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet.

Lil Wayne was not charged with marijuana possession.
If found guilty of illegally possessing a gun, the rapper, whose albums include 'Tha Block Is Hot' and 'Tha Carter III', faces up to four years in prison.

Wayne was sued earlier this year for allegedly releasing an altered version of a Rolling Stones song without proper permission.