Rapper Snoop Dogg pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges of deadly weapons possession after he was stopped by airport security with what they said was a collapsible baton in his luggage.
Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, did not appear at a court hearing in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles, but entered the plea through his lawyer. He also asked for a speedy trial.
Prosecutors charged the California rapper after security screeners at John Wayne Airport in Orange County said they found a collapsible police baton in his carry-on bag in November.
The baton, which expands from 8 to 21 inches, is classified as a dangerous weapon and is illegal to bring on a plane. The charge carries a maximum three-year prison sentence.
Snoop Dogg was arrested twice more last year by authorities in the Los Angeles area for weapons and drugs possession. Charges are pending in those cases.
Snoop Dogg, who has a previous conviction for cocaine possession, made his recording debut in the early 1990s as a gangsta-rap protégé of Dr Dre. He has since become one of the best-known acts in rap and in 2004 played a drug-dealer-turned-informant in the movie “Starsky & Hutch.”