Rapper Ja Rule leaves NY prison in gun case
Rapper Ja Rule leaves NY prison in gun case
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Platinum-selling rapper Ja Rule left an upstate New York prison Thursday morning after serving most of his two-year sentence for illegal gun possession and headed straight into federal custody in a tax case.
U.S. Marshals escorted the 36-year-old musician out of Mid-State Correctional Facility at 9:30 a.m. He was being held at the Oneida County Jail in central New York as he awaited word from the Federal Bureau of Prisons about where he’ll serve time in the tax case.
The rapper, who had been in protective custody because of his celebrity, has some time remaining on a 28-month sentence for tax evasion that ran concurrently.
Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, may have less than six months left and may be eligible for a halfway house, defense attorney Stacey Richman said. Back taxes are one of the main reasons he wants to get back to work, she said.
“Many people are looking forward to experiencing his talent again,” Richman said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Mack said Atkins owed the IRS $1.1 million and didn’t immediately know what if any had been paid. Once out of custody, Atkins also faces a year of supervised release, he said.
Ja Rule scored a Grammy Award nomination in 2002 for the best rap album with “Pain is Love.” He also has appeared in movies, including “The Fast and the Furious” in 2001 and “Scary Movie 3” in 2003.
Ja Rule, who went to the prison in Marcy in June 2011, got out at his earliest release date, state correction spokeswoman Linda Foglia said. He had two misbehavior reports for unauthorized phone calls in February 2012 and had work assignments on lawn and grounds crews and participated in education programs, she said.
Mass. boy, trying to avoid bedtime, calls 911
BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts say a 10-year-old boy called 911 because he didn’t want to go to bed.
Brockton police say the boy made the emergency call just after 8 p.m. Wednesday and told the dispatcher he was calling to report his mother because he did not want to go to bed.
There was no emergency.
The Enterprise reports that according to the police log, an officer went to the boy’s home and explained to him when it’s appropriate — and when it’s not — to call 911.
No one was charged.