Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Eastern Washington CLE to focus on Indigent Defense

On January 28, 2010, the Washington Supreme Court issued State v. A.N.J., a sweeping opinion articulating ineffective assistance of counsel elements for public defense cases. The Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) invites public defense lawyers to attend this no-cost CLE and learn more about this topic from our fabulous line-up of speakers. Seven CLE credits including ethics are pending approval. Register at:

Speakers Include Professor Robert Boruchowitz on caseload management, George Yeannakis on client communication,
Travis Stearns on direct and collateral consequences, presentations on Grant County and Director Joanne Moore from Washington State Office of Public Defense on looking forward in indigent defense.

The CLE is in Spokane April 2, 2010 at the Gonzaga University School of Law. It will also be held in Olympia and Wenatchee.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation - Field Operations Bureau

The Field Operations Bureau of the DCI includes:

Cyber Crime Unit
Major Crime Unit
Missing Person Information Clearinghouse


The Field Operations Bureau is under the direction of DCI Assistant Director Kevin Winker, who was appointed to this position on July 10, 2008. Kevin has been a member of the Department of Public Safety since 1988, serving in both the Iowa State Patrol Division and the Division of Narcotics Enforcement before transferring to DCI. He is a graduate of Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and is a recent graduate of Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command.

Kevin can be contacted by calling DCI Headquarters at (515) 725-6010 or by e-mail at winker@dps.state.ia.us

Request for Armed Forces or Government Employee Witness

Use for Armed Forces and Government employees OUTSIDE your judicial district. If the witness is for an indigent defendant attach a copy of the appointing court order.

A minimum of two weeks notification is required or ALL ARMED FORCES witnesses and is recommended for other Government employee witnesses.

If your request requires special attention, if additional assistance is needed, or if there is any change in the date of appearance of the witness(es) or change in the data concerning the witness(es), call Special Authorizations.

Form OBD-16 can be found here.

Medications Can Cause Psych Adverse Effects

A number of medications intended to treat psychiatric disorders are themselves capable of causing psychiatric adverse effects. Unfortunately, these medication-induced adverse effects can be mistaken for a lack of therapeutic efficacy, leading to increased dose prescribing, leading to even more adverse effects. In addition, a number of medications not intended to treat psychiatric disorders are capable of causing psychiatric adverse effects. Following are some general catageories of medications that fall into these categories.

List can be found here.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Al Franken Reads Fourth Amendment to Department of Justice Official



Leave it to Senator (!) Al Franken to remind DOJ officials of the Fourth Amendment in discussing the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Amendments upholding warrantless "roving" wiretapping. A roving wiretap is a wiretap specific to the United States that follows the surveillance target. The Patriot Act greatly expanded roving wiretapping.

Here is an excerpt from a great article from Cato @ Liberty that details the difference between roving wiretaps, Title III wiretaps, and the Fourth Amendment. Or as appellate Judge Sydney Thomas asked: "What happened to the Fourth Amendment? Was it repealed somehow?"

To understand the reasons for potential concern, we need to take a little detour into the differences between electronic surveillance warrants under Title III and FISA. The Fourth Amendment imposes two big requirements on criminal warrants: “probable cause” and “particularity”. That is, you need evidence that the surveillance you’re proposing has some connection to criminal activity, and you have to “particularly [describe] the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.” For an ordinary non-roving wiretap, that means you show a judge the “nexus” between evidence of a crime and a particular “place” (a phone line, an e-mail address, or a physical location you want to bug). You will often have a named target, but you don’t need one: If you have good evidence gang members are meeting in some location or routinely using a specific payphone to plan their crimes, you can get a warrant to bug it without necessarily knowing the names of the individuals who are going to show up. On the other hand, though, you do always need that criminal nexus: No bugging Tony Soprano’s AA meeting unless you have some reason to think he’s discussing his mob activity there. Since places and communications facilities may be used for both criminal and innocent persons, the officer monitoring the facility is only supposed to record what’s pertinent to the investigation.

When the tap goes roving, things obviously have to work a bit differently. For roving taps, the warrant shows a nexus between the suspected crime and an identified target. Then, as surveillance gets underway, the eavesdroppers can go up on a line once they’ve got a reasonable belief that the target is “proximate” to a location or communications facility. It stretches that “particularity” requirement a bit, to be sure, but the courts have thus far apparently considered it within bounds. It may help that they’re not used with great frequency: Eleven were issued last year, all to state-level investigators, for narcotics and racketeering investigations.

Surveillance law, however, is not plug-and-play. Importing a power from the Title III context into FISA is a little like dropping an unfamiliar organism into a new environment—the consequences are unpredictable, and may well be dramatic. The biggest relevant difference is that with FISA warrants, there’s always a “target”, and the “probable cause” showing is not of criminal activity, but of a connection between that target and a “foreign power,” which includes terror groups like Al Qaeda. However, for a variety of reasons, both regular and roving FISA warrants are allowed to provide only a description of the target, rather than the target’s identity. Perhaps just as important, FISA has a broader definition of the “person” to be specified as a “target” than Title III. For the purposes of criminal wiretaps, a “person” means any “individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, or corporation.” The FISA definition of “person” includes all of those, but may also be any “group, entity, …or foreign power.” Some, then, worry that roving authority could be used to secure “John Doe” warrants that don’t specify a particular location, phone line, or Internet account—yet don’t sufficiently identify a particular target either. Congress took some steps to attempt to address such concerns when they reauthorized Section 206 back in 2005, and other legislators have proposed further changes—which I’ll get to in a minute. But we actually need to understand a few more things about the peculiarities of FISA wiretaps to see why the risk of overbroad collection is especially high here.

In part because courts have suggested that the constraints of the Fourth Amendment bind more loosely in the foreign intelligence context, FISA surveillance is generally far more sweeping in its acquisition of information.

Watch It Here: 10 Rules for Dealing with Police

Watch It Here: 10 Rules for Dealing with Police

Posted using ShareThis

10 Rules for Dealing with Police, the new film from Flex Your Rights, premiered at Cato earlier this week. If you’re interested in knowing more about how to defend your rights during encounters with law enforcement, this is a must-see. You can watch the whole thing below, which includes discussion and commentary after the film.

TigerText


TigerText allows you to delete text messages from both user and sender's phones. This message will self destruct in five seconds.

Like KickNotes, this app available for I-Phone and Blackberry is another in a line of developing software developing as countersurveillance in the digital world where people are demanding more privacy for their data.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Washington State Gambling Commission - Special Agents

Special Agents are duly sworn law enforcement officers. Although they are exempt from civil service, they have many of the same benefits as general service employees, including a generous insurance and leave package. They also belong to PSERS, a new Public Safety Employees Retirement System.

Most Special Agents are required to attend the Washington State Criminal Justice Basic Law Enforcement Academy.

Special Agents are in the following divisions:

Field Operations – Field agents are assigned to one of our three regional offices in Everett, Spokane, and Tacoma. They conduct regulatory compliance inspections, criminal investigations, and may work undercover. Some agents in this division collect and analyze criminal intelligence information.

Licensing Operations (Financial Investigations Unit) – Agents in this division work at our Headquarters in Lacey and are not required to attend the Basic Law Enforcement Academy. They perform pre-licensing investigations on entities ranging from nonprofit organizations to small “mom and pop” taverns to large multimillion dollar corporations. They are trained to “follow the money,” investigating to detect hidden ownership and determine funds sources or undisclosed associations.

Tribal & Technical Gambling – These agents are based throughout the state and partner with Tribal representatives, ensuring casino style gambling is in compliance with the agreement negotiated between the state and Tribe.

More information can be found here.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Northwest Gang Investigators Association


The NWGIA was founded in 1994 by Law Enforcement gang officers. They saw a need to provide quality training and services to the Pacific Northwest. The original NWGIA was made up of members from Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Montana joined in 1996. Over the last 15 years, the NWGIA has become a strong provider of gang training for our members and member agencies.

California Gang Investigators Association

The California Gang Investigator's Association was founded in 1977 to foster better relationships and networking among the various investigative units working street gangs in Los Angeles County and throughout the state of California. Over the years the Association has grown to include members across the nation and in Australia and Canada. Membership is limited to all law enforcement officers including corrections, prosecutors, parole, and probation.

The Association interacts with fellow Gang Investigator's Associations across the country to assist in a coordinated approach to gang investigations, training, and to foster exchanges of information. The Association strives to better serve the needs of law enforcement by providing quality gang training that will assist members in the performance of their duties in a professional and ethical manner. It is the hope of the Association that through professional and pertinent training our membership will be better prepared to meet the challenges presented by street gangs.

While the solution to the street gang problem remains elusive it will only be found after a thorough examination of all aspects of the phenomenon. The Association supports this examination and provides a forum for investigators to exchange ideas in order to provide a wide ranging base of knowledge to contribute toward a solution.

Surenos and the Mexican Mafia

From KnowGangs.com

The Mexican Mafia originated in the mid-1950s at the Duel Vocational Institute in Tracy, California. The prison, originally built to house young male offenders, soon became the home of many Mexican-American street gang members mostly from barrios, or neighborhoods, in East Lost Angeles.

During this time White inmates enjoyed control over most of the trustee positions which offered them many prison luxuries. But more importantly, the Whites controlled the prison underworld. The Mexican-American inmates wanted more freedom and more importantly, to control the prison drug trade.

A small group of Mexican-American inmates organized themselves into what would become to be known as the Mexican Mafia. They patterned their organization after the Italian Mafia, which was often discussed in the media during the 1950s. They even copied the Black Hand symbol used by the Italians. As the group recruited newly arriving Mexican-American inmates they soon took hold of the California prison system, however according to the Department of Justice, the group did not have a strong leadership structure until the 1960s. By this time they controlled the narcotic traffic throughout most of the California prisons.

Early requirements of the gang required prospective members to be Mexican. Members also had to have completed at least one ‘hit’ or stabbing and their status in the gang was then based on their seniority and dedication. Dedication was usually proven by how many assaults they had engaged in.

Other violations include practicing Christianity and "politicking"—creating dissension among members. Violation of these rules could result in a death sentence.

While in prison, members are expected to engage in drug trafficking, extortion and any activity to acquire money and control over other inmates.

Former Mexican Mafia members have complained that La Eme is set up in a manner that only the top leaders collect all the profits from the illegal activities of others. They describe that 99% of the gang works to serve the less than 1% of those who control it. Others describe being ordered to commit various crimes that have lengthened their time in prison, with no reward for their sacrifice.

Even after leaving prison, the leadership still leaches off its members. Paroled members must pay a portion of all the money they make back to the leaders. Paroled members are also instructed to organize cells and to tax street gangs selling drugs. Paroled members regularly meet together to discuss and vote on actions in furtherance of their illegal activities. Leaders communicates with its members by passing small notes known as “kites” or “wilas.” They are given to visitors or other inmates who are to be paroled or transferring to another prison. In a few cases dishonest lawyers have passed messages for Eme members and even arranged court sanctioned meetings.

Surenos

In the late 1960s a division occurred among Mexican-American inmates with a new group forming, which would later be known as the Nuestra Familia. It so happened that the majority of the Nuestra Familia members were from Northern California and the majority of Mexican Mafia members were from Southern California. As the war between the two groups continued some members began distinguishing themselves as either Nortenos, a Spanish word for Northerner, or Sureno, Spanish word for Southerner.

As Eme members paroled to the streets, they were tasked with creating new cells to help facilitate more crime. In addition, paroled members explained the North versus South war occuring in prison to the young street gang members. The youngsters were told that when they did enter the prison system that they should align themselves with the other Surenos. The term Sureno was soon adopted by Hispanic street gang members throughout Southern California.

Although some might identify themselves as being a Sureno gang member, the original meaning of the term denotes an umbrella of gangs who fall under the control of the Mexican Mafia. Sureno sets may have conflict with each other Sureno gangs on the streets, yet in prison they will bond together for protection under the leadership of the Mexican Mafia.

Sureno gang members often identify themselves with the number ‘13’ to represent the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, the letter ‘M’. This is used to pay homage to the Mexican Mafia. Surenos will use the symbols Sur, XIII, X3, 13, and 3-dots in their graffiti and tattoos. In many parts of the country they will identify themselves with the color blue. Mexican Mafia members may have Sureno idenitifers as they were probably a Sureno gang member before being recruited into the Mexican Mafia. Other Mexican Mafia symbols include a black hand, the letters “MM” or the term La Eme.

It is import to reinforce that the Mexican Mafia and Surenos are two separate identities. Some have described the Mexican Mafia as being the father of Surenos. The majority of Sureno gang members have no direct contact with Mexican Mafia members, yet the Mexican Mafia is able exercise control and influence over Sureno gangs located in Southern California and a few scattered cities throughout the nation, without the knowledge of the majority of the street gangs’ members.

The number of actual documented Mexican Mafia members is relatively low. They continue to pool their membership from Sureno gang members who are willing to serve the Mexican Mafia leaders.

The Mexican Mafia is also documented in the 1992 Edward James Olmos film, "American Me." There are other street gangs who have used the Mexican Mafia name, but have no connection to the gang and little knowledge of the actual gang.

The Mexican Mafia has been identified in nearly every federal and state institution in the United States. Sureno street gangs have been identified in every state in the country, although few outside California have any connection to the Mexican Mafia. Members have being involved in all facets of criminal activity.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Workplace Movements Tracked?


Many office buildings have scanners that give access to the building. Many offices are switching to personal scanners that are unique to the individual. Some offices even have scanners in different parts of the building that can "read" where the employee is in the building. Disconcerting for purposes of civil liberties perhaps but could be useful if dealing with alibi or surveillance issues. Check out this excerpt from article from "How Stuff Works".
Security passcards are often used to gain entry into areas and buildings with restricted access. The security passcard may be for general access, meaning that the passcard does not provide data about the person using it, or it may be individually encoded, containing specific information about the cardholder.

Typically, the data on an encoded security passcard includes:
* Name
* ID # (social security number or other unique number)
* Access level (where you're allowed to go)
An individually-encoded passcard looks a lot like a credit card. The stripe on the back of the security passcard is a magnetic stripe, often called a magstripe. The magstripe is made up of tiny, iron-based magnetic particles in a plastic-like film. Each particle is really a very tiny bar magnet, about 20 millionths of an inch long. The magstripe on the back of the card is very similar to a piece of cassette tape.

The magstripe can be "written" because the tiny bar magnets can be magnetized in either a north- or south-pole direction. When the polarity of the bars aligns in the same direction, the card is blank. To write data requires a process called flux reversal. Basically, the polarity of a bar is reversed so that the north pole is facing the north pole of the adjacent bar (N-N) or the south pole is facing the south pole (S-S). This causes a change in the magnetic field that can be detected by the card reader. Since there can be two different flux reversals, N-N or S-S, there can be two different information states. This corresponds nicely to the binary system of 1s and 0s used by computers.

Feds May Send Agents Undercover On Social Networking Sites

By Rick Whiting, ChannelWeb
Federal law enforcement agencies are considering putting undercover agents on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace for investigative and data gathering purposes, according to a U.S. Department of Justice document.

The confidential, 33-page DOJ presentation was obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights advocacy group, which made it public Tuesday. The document was prepared by the DOJ's Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all within the DOJ.

One slide in the presentation is titled "Undercover Operations: Legal and Practical Issues." The slide included the question "Why go undercover on Facebook, MySpace, etc.?" and in bullet points suggested agents could "communicate with suspects/targets," "gain access to non-public info," and "map social relationships/networks."

Another slide entitled "Utility in Criminal Cases," stated that evidence from social networking sites can "reveal personal communications," "establish motives and personal relationships," "provide location information," "prove and disprove alibis," and "establish crime or criminal enterprise."

Most of the document, entitled "Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Networking Sites," includes profiles of leading social networking sites and examines which ones are most prominent in different geographies of the world.

The Facebook profile, for example, outlined its history and includes information on whether subscribers use real names, how data is organized, what privacy policies it follows, and whether the company is "cooperative with emergency requests."

The document also examines some of the legal issues federal agents face when assuming fake identities on social networking sites. One slide specifically refers to a court ruling in the case of Lori Drew, a Texas woman acquitted of cyber-bullying a girl who committed suicide.

The document was prepared by John Lynch, deputy chief of computer crime, and Jenny Ellickson, trial attorney, both with the DOJ Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section. The EFF obtained the document through the Freedom of Information Act.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

VineLink


VINELink is the online version of VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), the National Victim Notification Network. This service allows crime victims to obtain timely and reliable information about criminal cases and the custody status of offenders 24 hours a day. Victims and other concerned citizens can also register to be notified by phone, email or TTY device when an offender's custody status changes. Users can also register through their participating state or county toll-free number.


VINELink demo can be found here.

KickNotes - Send & Receive Self Destructing Online Messages

Nosy family members? Employers screening your e-mail? Need to send online messages that literally self destruct after being opened? Send KickNotes!

Self-destructing messages are messages that are configured to delete themselves at a certain point. When composing a message on KickNotes, you can set the maximum number of times the message can be viewed, the amount of time that the message actually exists, or both.

Using KickNotes, you can compose a message which will delete itself after the first time it's viewed. You can also compose a message which will delete itself after ten minutes but can be viewed an unlimited number of times within those ten minutes. You can even compose a message which self destructs after ten views or ten minutes (whichever comes first). With KickNotes, you're in control of your messages!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas


The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program enhances and coordinates drug control efforts among local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. The program provides agencies with coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.

Office of National Drug Control Policy 202-395-6752 Executive Office of the President Bureau of State and Local Affairs Washington D.C. 20503

FBI - Joint Terrorism Task Forces

Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) are small cells of highly trained, locally based, investigators, analysts, linguists, SWAT experts, and other specialists from dozens of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies. It is a multi-agency effort led by the Justice Department and FBI designed to combine the resources of federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Washington - Joint Terrorism Task Force
- Everett 425-252-3500
- Inland NW 509-892-9945
- Seattle 206-262-2421

Bureau of Diplomatic Security - Diplomatic Security Service

As the Department of State's security and law enforcement arm, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security plays an essential yet behind-the-scenes role: To provide a safe and secure environment for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. Not only is Diplomatic Security a unique organization in the foreign affairs community--it is the only law enforcement agency with representation in nearly every country in the world.

Diplomatic Security has offices throughout the United States staffed with special agents and contract investigators. These agents form the backbone of DS's investigative mission, conducting criminal, counterterrorism, and background investigations. Agents assigned to field and resident offices assist in providing support to the protection of the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and visiting foreign dignitaries. In addition, they are charged with security support for resident foreign diplomats and assistance to the private sector through the Overseas Security Advisory Council. Liaison with federal and local law enforcement, foreign mission personnel, local officials, and the private sector complements their major responsibilities.

DS Investigative Field Offices
http://www.state.gov/m/ds/rls/rpt/18892.htm

ATF Field Operations Offices


Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Office of Public and Governmental Affairs
99 New York Avenue NE
Mail Stop 5S144
Washington, DC 20226


Atlanta Field Division: 404-417-2600
Baltimore Field Division: 443-965-2000
Boston Field Division: 617-557-1200
Charlotte Field Division: 704-716-1800
Chicago Field Division: 312-846-7200
Columbus Field Division: 614-827-8400
Dallas Field Division: 469-227-4300
Denver Field Division: 303-844-7450
Detroit Field Division: 313-202-3400
Houston Field Division: 281-372-2900
Kansas City Field Division: 816-559-0700
Los Angeles Field Division: 818-265-2500
Louisville Field Division: 502-753-3400
Miami Field Division: 305-597-4800
Nashville Field Division: 615-565-1400
Newark Field Division: 973-413-1179
New Orleans Field Division: 504-841-7000
New York Field Division: 718-650-4000
Philadelphia Field Division: 215-717-4700
Phoenix Field Division: 602-776-5400
San Francisco Field Division: 925-479-7500
Seattle Field Division: 206-389-5800
St. Paul Field Division: 651-726-0200
Tampa Field Division: 813-202-7300
Washington, DC Field Division: 202-648-8010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

National Drug Intelligence Center

The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) was established by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-396) signed into law on October 6, 1992. Placed under the direction and control of the Attorney General, NDIC was established to "coordinate and consolidate drug intelligence from all national security and law enforcement agencies, and produce information regarding the structure, membership, finances, communications, and activities of drug trafficking organizations."

Email: NDIC.Contacts@usdoj.gov

National Drug Intelligence Center
319 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Johnstown, PA 15901-1622
Telephone: (814) 532-4601
FAX: (814) 532-4690

National Drug Intelligence Center
U.S. Department of Justice
Robert F. Kennedy Building, Room 3341
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-2000
Telephone: 202-532-4040

Crime Records Center (US Army - USACIDC)

The U.S. Army Crime Records Center is co-located with the USACIDC Headquarters at Fort Belvoir Virginia. The CRC is a multi-functional center, supporting not only the Army and the command, but also foreign, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The CRC receives, safeguards, maintains and disseminates information from Army law enforcement records. The center has accumulated more than 2.5 million reports. It also serves as CID's Freedom of Information and Privacy Act authority and annually responds to more than 2,000 requests for information. Another major function of the center is to manage the Army law enforcement Polygraph Program.
The CRC director is Mr. Phillip McGuire.

Email address: CRCFOIAPA@conus.army.mil

Mailing Address:
Director U.S. Army Crime Records Center
USACIDC 6010
6th Street
Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5585
Phone:703-806-0431
DSN: 656-0431

http://www.cid.army.mil/crc.html

Guide to Sources of Information for Intelligence Officers, Analysts, and Investigators

The "Guide to Sources of Information for Intelligence Officers, Analysts, and Investigators" is compiled from multiple and various open sources. The information found in the guide was obtained from the organizations listed herein or from other open sources (i.e. Internet) and may not have been fully validated.

This guide is not intended to be an exhaustive compilation of all sources of information available to intelligence officers, analysts, and investigators. There are many other sources of valuable information that may be useful for intelligence, analytical, and investigative purposes. The specific sources of information identified in the guide exemplify the types of information available, and that which may have proven useful in the past.

The inclusion of specific products or services should not be viewed as an endorsement by any agency, organization, or person.

As a user of this guide, you should be aware that, in many cases, information and sources we cite may be privileged or restricted and, therefore, you will need to apply for accounts or access to the specific systems, and databases listed.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Need Arson Expert?

A new resource for Arson Investigations has started in the Spokane area. Arson Injustice run by John Scrivner is available for nationwide arson investigations. The site states, "We are a group of dedicated, experienced, court approved fire investigation experts with a mission. To assist the innocent and wrongly accused to make sure justice and not injustice is accomplished."

Monday, March 1, 2010

Lil Wayne Goes to Prison


full article here
As Lil Wayne prepares for incarceration, we look back at 2009 interview with Katie Couric.


Dwayne Carter, popularly known as the multi-platinum selling artist ‘Lil Wayne,’ is putting on hold a career that made him one of today's biggest music merchants.

The Grammy-award winning artist, whose "Tha Carter III" was the top selling album of 2008—and whose "Rebirth” album released only last month is currently at the top ten of the Billboards album charts—has started his year-long incarceration today, Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

The 27-year-old rapper pleaded guilty in October 2009 after being hauled to court by authorities for criminal possession of a weapon.

A loaded gun was found on the artist's tour bus in July 2007.

Lil Wayne, who accidentally shot himself when he was 12-years-old, and who once told interviewer Katie Couric, “I’m a gangsta,” has been rapping since his teens.

He is but one in a growing line of celebrities serving jail time.

Lil Wayne is the latest celebrity inmate to test US law enforcement officials’ ability to draw the line between providing special treatment and recognizing potential risks to high profile convicts.

The rapper’s defense lawyer, Stacey Richman, had asked for protective custody for Lil Wayne, as well as a request for attention to dental problems the rapper had that postponed his sentencing for two weeks.