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Kodak Black: Rapper pleads guilty to federal weapons charges

Kodak Black attends the 4th Annual TIDAL X: Brooklyn at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on 23 October, 2018 in New York City: (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIDAL)
Kodak Black attends the 4th Annual TIDAL X: Brooklyn at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on 23 October, 2018 in New York City: (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIDAL)

Kodak Black has pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges, entering the plea at Miami's federal court months after pleading not guilty.

The 22-year-old rapper was charged by prosecutors in May this year for crimes including falsifying information on federal forms to purchase three firearms. According to prosecutors, a weapon purchased by Black was found at the scene of a shooting in south Florida.

The ATF form 4473 poses three questions to anyone wishing to purchase a weapon, including: "Are you under indictment or information in any court for a felony, or any other crime for which the judge could imprison you for more than one year?"

Black is currently under indictment in South Carolina for first degree criminal conduct, in connection with an allegation that he sexually assaulted a girl in a hotel room after a concert in November 2016.

The second question asks: "Have you ever been convicted in any court of a felony, or any other crime for which the judge could have imprisoned you for more than one year, even if you received a shorter sentence including probation?"

Black has an extensive criminal record, including a 2013 conviction for carjacking and robbery. He has also been arrested eight times over drugs, and was caught with marijuana at the US/Canada border in June this year.

He also reportedly entered the wrong social security number the first of the two times he filled out the form, by transposing two digits, which meant a background check did not reveal the ongoing sexual assault case. Black entered the correct social security number the second time and was denied the transaction when the shop found his criminal record.

Black's lawyers claimed that there has been “no evidence that he intended to deceive or knew that the alleged statement was intended to deceive”. They said that in the 2013 case Black “was never adjudicated a felon, but rather a delinquent and youthful offender.” They also argued that he was not an unlawful user of marijuana, because he has a medical marijuana prescription.

Authorities say Black could face up to eight years in prison. His request for bond was denied by a judge, who said his length criminal record made him a danger to the community. He remains in a federal detention centre in Miami.

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