In an ironic twist, Young Money’s aptly named emcee Cory Gunz found himself in trouble with the law over the weekend when he was arrested on gun charges in New York. Gunz has since bet set free, but is now facing years in prison due to his arrest.
According to MTV News, Gunz was arrested around 2 p.m. on Jan. 28 in the Soundview section of the Bronx after police found an unregistered Taurus .9mm pistol in his backpack. A day after his arrest, Gunz’s father, veteran rapper Peter Gunz, confirmed that his son was in police custody and called the arrest the result of an illegal search.
“It was definitely an illegal search,” Peter said. “I spoke to the arresting officer, and so far, what I’m hearing from him is that they got a phone call at the station saying they should ‘look.’ According to [the officer], they didn’t know he was Cory Gunz. They just saw a bunch of kids following him around.”
Early Monday morning, Peter posted the $30,000 to set his son free.
“This was a big mistake on my part,” Gunz told the New York Daily News after being released from custody. “I didn’t have any intentions of harming anyone or committing a criminal activity. So many young people look up to me and I need to fight through this.”
Gunz also took to Twitter after his release to apologize to his young fans over the arrest.
“Home,” Gunz tweeted. “I apologize to all of my Supporters, Friends and Family. Things Happen, No excuses. My only regret is letting ya’ll down… Peace.”
Gunz has been charged with criminal possession of a loaded firearm and faces a mandatory sentence of 3 1/2 years in jail, if convicted.
As he explained on Sunday, Peter is hopeful, but worried that his son will be made an example of by the law and sent to prison.
“At the end of the day, there’s a reason for everything, but at the same time, in New York, it’s mandatory jail time,” he said. “To go to a precinct and see your son, your junior, in handcuffs, it’s heartbreaking. Anytime you see your child in jail, in the cell, in handcuffs, it’s very hard. He’s walked down some of the same paths that I walked down, but you never want to see your kids go through what you went through. This is Cory’s first offense, but sometimes they like to make an example out of rappers and people with any kind of celebrity to them.”
Like Peter, Gunz’s manager, entertainer Nick Cannon, is hopeful that Gunz will remain out of prison and showed his support for Gunz via Twitter.
“Great dude, just a little bad luck. @CoryGunz is holding strong and will be out shortly. Family is here if and when anything is needed,” tweeted Cannon.
In 2010, Gunz built up a major buzz for himself with a high-profile appearance on Lil Wayne’s “6 Foot, 7 Foot single.” The following year, Gunz and his father starred in the six-part MTV docu-series “Son of a Gun,” which chronicled Gunz’s rise to fame. Stay tuned as this story is sure to develop. In the meantime, check out these five other rappers who’ve been in trouble with the law over guns. –nicholas robinson
