Eminem Pleads No Contest
Rapper Eminem pleaded no contest in a Pontiac, Mich., courtroom today to charges stemming from an incident last June when he pulled a gun on an associate of the Insane Clown Posse.
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Denise Langford Morris accepted Eminem’s plea and said she is considering probation in lieu of jail time. She did not elaborate on a length.
The rapper’s attorney, Howard Hertz, told the media after the hearing, however, that he is hoping for two years. The Grammy-winning performer was accused of pulling out an unloaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol while in a dispute with Douglas Dail — who works for fellow Detroit rappers ICP — at a car audio store in Royal Oak, Mich., on June 3rd of last year.
Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, plead no contest to carrying a concealed weapon and brandishing a firearm in public. The concealed weapon felony charge carries a maximum of five years in state prison, while the brandishing a firearm is a ninety-day misdemeanor.
A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but it does constitute a conviction. By pleading no contest, Eminem gives up his right to a trial.
He is due back in court for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5th. If he is unhappy with his sentence, he has the right to withdraw his plea and go to trial.
The outcome of this hearing is similar to that of Eminem’s other legal matter. Eminem was charged with carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile and assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly pistol-whipped John Guerra last June 4th at Hot Rock nightclub in Warren, Mich. Eminem claims that he saw Guerra kissing Eminem’s now-estranged wife, Kim Mathers. The rapper pled guilty to the concealed weapons count on February 14th. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to two years probation on April 10th in that matter.
If Morris sentences Eminem to two years probation, it would run concurrently to the Macomb County sentence.