NEWARK, NJ (CelebrityAccess) — On Thursday, Diplomats rapper Juelz Santana copped a plea federal court after he attempted to bring a loaded weapon onto an airplane at Newark Airport.
Santana, whose real name is Laron L. James, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and carrying a weapon on an aircraft.
According to the U.S. State’s attorney, Santana had a loaded .38 caliber derringer, a type of small, concealable pistol, in his luggage when he attempted to board a flight from Newark to San Francisco on March 9th. The gun was discovered during the X-Ray screening of James’s luggage before he could board the flight.
Santana is barred from owning firearms due to a 2012 conviction in Bergen County Superior Court for manufacturing and distributing a controlled dangerous substance.
Both charges in the indictment carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2018.
However, according to USA Today, Will Skaggs, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the plea agreement Santana reached with the government recommends a sentence of two to five years in Prison, though the judge in the case is not bound by the recommendation.
USA Today reported that Santana is not currently in detention as he awaits sentencing but he is closely supervised by the government. On Friday, after his court date, he was permitted to leave his home in Teaneck, New Jersey to film for the VH1 reality show “Love and Hip Hop” at an office in Manhattan.
