On Tuesday, April 13, Coolio withdrew his no-contest plea to the felony charge| of carrying a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, and pleaded guilty during a scheduled sentencing hearing at the Torrance Municipal Court.

He was arrested on Thursday, September 17, when a sheriff's deputy saw him driving his 1996 military-style Hummer on the wrong side of the road in the Los Angeles suburb, Lawndale, CA. When deputies discovered Coolio's license had expired, they searched his car, finding the handgun in the driver's side door, along with a full clip of ammunition and a bag of marijuana.

Coolio paid a fine of $1000 for the traffic violation and the marijuana charges were dropped. "I have friends who have prescriptions for it," the Grammy-winning artist said. Coolio initially pled innocent to the firearm charge, but on Wednesday, March 3, he changed his plea to no-contest and Judge James R. Brandlin announced a sentence of 10 days jail-time, 40 hours of community service, and a disturbing order for Coolio to attend the autopsy of a gunshot victim. But, right before that sentence could be formally carried out, Coolio's lawyer withdrew the no-contest plea. Now due back in court on Wednesday, April 28, to restart the judicial process with a preliminary hearing, which will determine if there is enough evidence to try Coolio, who was convicted of similar charges back in 1994. Had he stuck with his no-contest plea, the charge would have been considered a "straight felony," which means it couldn't have been reduced to a misdemeanor after the terms of probation had been met. Coolio hopes to release his fourth album, Dead Man Walkin', sometime this summer. - Werner