Fabolous lawyers says rapper didn't know about the guns in the car

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Rapper Fabolous, whose real name is John Jackson, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a defaced firearm on Tuesday, October 17th, after police discovered two loaded guns -- a 9mm and a .40 caliber pistol -- in the vehicle which was transporting the rapper to the hospital after he had been shot. According to his lawyer, Alberto Ebanks, Fabolous didn't even know there were weapons in the car. Ebanks told MTV.com, "No one alleges that there were any guns in the car he drove there in. Any car that would have pulled up and taken him to the emergency room he would have jumped into because he was bleeding profusely."

The attorney added, "I don't know that he knows anything about those guns in that car, and he categorically denies carrying or possessing any firearms. If he had two guns, he probably wouldn't have gotten shot that day."

Fabolous was in the parking lot next door to Sean "Diddy" Combs'Justin's restaurant waiting for his Cadillac Escalade when he was shot in the right thigh. The rapper is expected to fully recover. Police are still searching for the gunmen.

Fabolous was hit with the two weapons charges because, under New York state law, any time an unlicensed gun is found in a vehicle it is believed to be possessed by everyone in the vehicle unless someone steps up to acknowledges ownership.

The other three men in the vehicle, 18-year-old Kevin Bass, 23-year-old Percell German, and 29-year-old Rascharm Davis were also charged.

Authorities were probing whether or not the shooting was related to a robbery which occurred at the restaurant a few hours earlier. NBA star Sebastian Telfair was robbed of a $50,000 chain. According to Ebanks, the two incidents were unrelated. He said, "I think Justin's caters to people who are famous and wannabes who prey on its high-profile clients. My understanding is that this was absolutely not a beef, that it was not someone he expected would do something. He doesn't have any beefs with anyone."

Fabolous was released on $15,000 bail on Wednesday, October 18th. His attorney said that the charges will be dropped soon because its clear that Fabolous was not in possession of the two weapons found in the Dodge Magnum that transported him to the hospital. The vehicle was registered to the rapper's company, Ghetto Fabulous Inc.