October 19, 2006

Fabolous Slapped With Two Weapon-Possession Charges

By Gil Kaufman (MTV.com)

Fabolous was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a defaced firearm on Tuesday, just hours after the MC was shot in the right thigh during an early-morning ambush in New York.

The charges stem from an arrest made as Fabolous (born John Jackson), 28, was fleeing from the scene of the shooting on his way to the hospital. Police stopped the Dodge Magnum he was riding in and found two weapons stashed inside the car.

A New York Police Department spokesperson would not describe how one of the two loaded guns -- a 9mm and a .40 caliber pistol -- had been defaced, but said typically weapons have their serial numbers removed in order to make them untraceable.

Also charged in the case were the three men traveling with Fabolous -- Kevin Bass, 18; Percell German, 23; and Rascharm Davis, 29 -- all of whom are reportedly fellow residents of the rapper's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's office said the men are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon (October 18).

A Def Jam Records spokesperson could not be reached at press time for comment on Fabolous' condition, however New York's Daily News reported the rapper was released from Bellevue hospital and taken to a police precinct Tuesday night; he reportedly walked into the Central Booking area early Wednesday morning with a slight limp.

The Daily News also reported that as the four men were led into Central Booking they told reporters that they didn't see who shot the rapper. According to the paper, no shell casings were recovered from the crime scene, leading police to believe that they were either picked up after the shooting or the shots were fired from inside a car.

Fabolous' lawyer could not be reached for comment at press time.