T.I. has lost his freedom, once again. After being released from prison to a halfway house last week, a transportation “flap” between the two locales caused the rapper to be removed from the halfway house. Now, T.I. has reportedly been moved to a Georgia correctional facility to serve out the final month of his 11-month sentence.
In a statement sent to MTV’s RapFix on Sept 2., T.I.’s attorney, Steve Sadow, addressed the rapper’s transportation “flap,” in which he used a tour bus to move between locales, a move which prison officials objected to and are currently reviewing.
“The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) appears to have an issue with the circumstances surrounding T.I.’s transportation from Arkansas to Atlanta. At this point, T.I. has not been given formal notice by the BOP of any alleged transgression,” Sadow said. “Since I have no specifics, I am not yet in a position to comment except to say that we are confident there was never any intent or reason to mislead or misstate the circumstances surrounding his transportation.”
Last week, Sadow claimed that T.I. had agreed to provide his own transportation between the Forrest City Correctional Facility in Arkansas and the Atlanta halfway house, and in the statement, Sadow adds that despite the bureau’s later objections to T.I.’s mode of transportation, he was actually escorted to his tour bus by prison guards.
“T.I. got on a private bus in the prison’s parking area in full view of BOP employees. Indeed, he was actually escorted to the bus by a prison guard,” he said.
adding, “We hope to clear up any confusion or misunderstanding quickly so T.I. can return to the halfway house.”
Last week, T.I.’s wife, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, also spoke with TMZ about the incident, relaying a similar and more impassioned version of Sadow’s story.
“This is a bunch of bulls–t … they should have said something before he got on the bus … T.I. would have politely gotten into a van,” said Harris. “T.I. is one of the strongest individuals I know … and they just trying to break him in more ways than one and it’s not gonna work! ‘Cause what God got for him, can’t no man take that away … period!”
Unless Sadow can clear things up with the bureau, T.I. will remain in the Georgia facility until his sentence is up on Sept. 29. –nicholas robinson
