T.I.'s wife charged with misdemeanor drug possession

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tameka Cottle is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles on a misdemeanor drug charge -- the same day her husband, rapper T.I., is due to turn himself in to start serving an 11-month sentence at an Arkansas prison.

Cottle's arraignment and T.I.'s incarceration both stem from a Sept. 1 traffic stop in West Hollywood. Police arrested the Atlanta-based newlyweds on suspicion of drug possession but only Cottle was charged. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office  announced Monday it would not prosecute Clifford Harris Jr., the rapper's birth name, despite finding four ecstasy tablets on him.

That decision was reached in part because of the jail time facing T.I, 30. He was ordered to return to prison on Oct. 15 for violating his probation on weapons charges.

Though a one-year sentence is possible, Cottle, 35, will likely avoid incarceration for the misdemeanor drug charge. It's unknown if she's secured legal representation.

Harris' legal troubles date back to October 2007, when the rapper was arrested in Atlanta for attempting to purchase illegal firearms. He spent one year and a day in prison after negotiating a plea deal that included house arrest and community service. He was still serving under the terms of a strict probation when arrested in West Hollywood.

The Grammy Award-winning MC married Cottle, his longtime girlfriend, in July following Harris' release from a halfway house.

He's stayed busy during his brief time as a free man, putting the finishing touches on an eagerly awaited new album recorded while he was under supervised release. Earlier this month, T.I. was credited with helping talk down a man who had threatened to jump from atop a 22-story Midtown office building.