Snoop Dogg Avoids Prison Sentence in Weapons & Drugs Case

Snoop Dogg won't be spending any time in jail, as it turns out. The rapper, arrested in October of 2006 for drug and weapon possession at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California.

Snoop was officially charged on Tuesday, and on Wednesday entered a no contest plea, which will keep him out of prison. The rapper didn't get off with no punishment, however. Snoop will be required to perform 800 hours of community service, and will be under probation for five years. Of the 800 hours of community service, up to 400 may be related to the rapper's youth football league.

Snoop's problems all started when his car was noticed parked in a passenger pick-up zone. A search by airport security uncovered a large amount of marijuana, and a subsequent search of Snoop's home revealed more drugs and a gun, resulting in two charges.

Had he been found guilty, Snoop Dogg would have faced up to four years in prison.

Snoop's attorney, Donald Etra, released a statement after the no contest plea. "Snoop accepts full responsibility for these matters," read the statement. "He understands that, while he has every reason to seek security and protection, he cannot have a gun in his own vehicle, and he must only employ licensed security personnel. By the same token, although Snoop possesses a medical marijuana certificate, he recognizes, he cannot possess more marijuana than permitted by that law."

The quick end to this set of legal problems doesn't mean Snoop is out of the woods yet. On May, Snoop will face charges that he attempted to go through security at John Wayne airport with a collapsible police baton in his luggage. That incident happened on September 27 of last year.

As part of the current plea agreement, in addition to the limit on how many hours of community service may be directly related to Snoop's youth football league, the judge ruled that Snoop Dogg was not allowed to have any gang members in his entourage, and that the music star must notify authorities before he leaves the state. Should he break his probation, Snoop would be sentenced to three years in state prison.

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