Rapper Ja Rule was charged Thursday with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license, but the drug charge was apparently dropped the same day.
Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, was pulled over early Thursday morning in his Mercedes-Benz in Manhattan after police spotted him changing lanes without signaling, police spokesman Sgt. John Grimpel said.
The officers found a small amount of marijuana in his possession, Grimpel said.
Ja Rule, 28, of Saddle River, N.J., pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license and paid $550 in fines and court fees. The judge did not address the marijuana possession charge, which apparently was dropped.
Prosecutors told the judge that the rapper had an open warrant in Queens from 1996 for resisting arrest. The judge ordered him to appear in Queens Criminal Court on July 7 to respond to that warrant.
Ja Rule and his lawyer refused to comment after the hearing.
The deep-throated, multiplatinum rapper also has acted in several movies, including “The Fast and the Furious” and “Half Past Dead.”