Snoop Dogg pleads not guilty to Baton Charge

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Rapper and actor Snoop Dogg entered a plea of not guilty to a felony charge of possessing a deadly weapon on Wednesday, January 24th. E Online! reports that the charges stem from an incident when the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, attempted to board a plane at Orange County's John Wayne airport while carrying a collapsible police baton.

After officers spotted the baton in his carry-on luggage, Snoop Dogg said that he was unaware that the baton was illegal and that he was using it as a prop in a new video.

The rapper wasn't arrested during the September 27th incident but several weeks later authorities decided to press charges and on November 6th, Snoop Dogg turned himself in. The rapper was later released on $150,000 bail and he faces up to three years in jail if found guilty.

Snoop Dogg, who wasn't present in court on Wednesday, January 24th, is due back in court on April 5th for a pretrial hearing.