Master P Pleads No Contest

Master P and his brother, fellow rapper Silkk the Shocker, have both pleaded No Contest during their arraignments in a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday. In exchange for pleading No Contest, Master P, whose real name is Percy Miller, 38, received a lesser charge of carrying a loaded and unregistered weapon. The sentence received for the misdemeanor charge was 40 hours of community service and a $700 fine. The court gave credit to Master P for time served, one night in prison following the arrest.

Silkk the Shocker, Vyshonn Miller, 30, did not have his charges reduced through his pleading of No Contest. He received the felony charge of carrying an unregistered and loaded firearm, which brought a sentence of three years supervised probation, as well as 40 hours community service and a $700 fine. Both had originally been charged with the felony, which carried a maximum sentence of three years in prison, if convicted.

The charges stem from an incident where the Miller brothers were stopped by University of California police. The police found two loaded weapons under the seats of the Chrysler they were driving, both of which were not registered to either Master P or his brother, but were registered to the owner of the vehicle.

The plea bargains struck by both Master P and Silkk the Shocker came three days after their 35-year-old brother, Corey Miller, also known as C-Murder, was granted a new trial in the murder case of a 16-year-old. As Reuters reports, "Corey Miller had been sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy, but the court on Friday overturned his conviction because prosecutors had failed to disclose the criminal records of some witnesses."

Master P, a native of New Orleans, has been ordered to spend his community service either talking to kinds about the evils of guns and gun crime, or helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Master P is the founder of the "gangsta" rap label "No Limit", and has a teen son rapper, Lil' Romeo, who stars with him in the Nickelodeon show Romeo. Master P also enjoyed mainstream success recently with his appearances on the highly rated ABC reality series, Dancing With the Stars. Apart from trying out for NBA teams, Master P also gained notoriety with his role in the film Hollywood Homicide.

[Additional Sources: Reuters]