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Lil Wayne avoids jail time again; now due to courthouse fire
by Natalie James - March 3, 2010 - comments
After learning of his sentencing delay, the New Orleans rapper took to his Twitter account, which he set up under the name of "liltunechi", to tell his fans how the fire in the Manhattan Criminal Court Building prevented him from facing the judge that was to sentence him.
Rapper Lil Wayne's much-awaited sentencing is delayed again! The hip-hop star, who was due to begin his year-long jail sentence related to a 2007 on Tuesday, won an unexpected reprieve from prison after the Manhattan court building caught on fire.
Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., was due to be sentenced on Feb. 9 for his much-reported illegal weapon possession crimes, but a Manhattan judge put off his sentencing until March 2, allowing the star to undergo his much-needed dental surgery.
Courthouse fire delays sentencing
The already delayed jail term of the platinum selling entertainer unexpectedly got put off again Tuesday (March 2) after a small blaze broke out at the New York courthouse where Wayne was to be sentenced.
The two-alarm fire broke out in the basement of the Manhattan court building, at 100 Centre Street, prompting the evacuation of the building as well as postponement of the sentencing and all other matters of courthouse business.
It’s been reported that the hip-hop star, also known as Weezy, was en route to New York for his 2:15 p.m. hearing when his road manager E.I. informed him there's been a fire at the court building.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper was expected to be awarded a sentence of eight to 12 months and finally be taken to the detention center at Riker's Island after pleading guilty last October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
Wayne tweets post sentencing delay
After learning of his sentencing delay, the New Orleans rapper took to his Twitter account, which he set up under the name of "liltunechi", to tell his fans how the fire in the Manhattan Criminal Court Building prevented him from facing the judge that was to sentence him.
"They kant lok up my heart bekuz y'all already have it on lok. ......thank u," Wayne tweeted.
Video message
The rapper also sent a video message to MTV News, in which he revealed he is ready to start his jail-term.
"There's been a fire in the court. I have one more day of freedom. For now, y'all keep it real, 'cause I will," Wayne said.
"I'm ready. I'm all smiles," he continued, pointing to his teeth. "They can't break my strength. They can only lock me up physically. They can't lock up my mind. They can't lock up my heart. They can only take my time because the law allows them to. Time is precious, but love is life. So therefore in the end my love will prevail."
The courthouse fire
The courthouse fire that broke out around 10:30 and was put out within 45 minutes caused chaos in the building, with hundreds of people, including judges, lawyers, court reporters and prisoners, being evacuated from the huge premises.
The building was closed for the day, and, according to Fire Department officials, at least eight people were injured, including five firefighters, two civilians and one prisoner as a result of the midmorning blaze.