Rapper T.I., Wife "Tiny" Arrested on Drug Charges
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist T.I., who his still on probation after serving time in prison on gun charges, was arrested along with his wife on suspicion of possessing
methamphetamines after police allegedly smelled marijuana smoke after stopping their car in West Hollywood, officials said.
Police booked the rapper, whose birth name is Clifford Harris, Jr. and wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle for possession of a controlled substance, according to Los Angeles sheriff's deputy Mark Pope.
"Deputies smelled a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle," the department said. "A narcotics investigation ensued" and the arrests followed.
Deputy Diane Hecht said Thursday that the two were booked Wednesday night in Los Angeles County jail.
Deputy Luis Castro says the couple posted $10,000 bail each and were released from jail at about 4 a.m. Thursday.
The self-proclaimed "King of the South" has a lead role in the movie "Takers," which debuted at the top spot at the box office this weekend.
He recently spent seven months in an Arkansas federal prison and three months in a Georgia halfway house on federal weapons charges.
Since that case, the 29-year-old rapper proclaimed that he had shifted his life in a new direction. He gave several speeches about the dangers of drugs and guns, and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young was one of his supporters. In the time leading up to his most recent sentence, T.I. starred in the MTV reality show "T.I's Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go."
In a July interview, T.I. spoke of learning from his past mistakes and living a more positive life.
"Right now, it's all about moving forward and just acknowledging the blessing that are here today...Just moving past the regrets of yesterday-the things that could've been done better," he said.
The father of five married 39-year-old Cottle in July. Cottle, who sang with the 1990s R&B group Xscape, has recently starred in her own reality TV show on BET called "The Tiny & Toya Show."
T.I.'s publicist declined to comment on the arrest.
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