iradiophilly | News - Meek Mill Pleads Guilty to Gun Charge, Other Charges Dropped, Decade-long Case Closed

Streaming Radio for Philadelphia
More Music. Fewer Interruptions. Just what you want to hear.

FOLLOW:

News
Talk about what's in the news


The Post

Meek Mill Pleads Guilty to Gun Charge, Other Charges Dropped, Decade-long Case Closed

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 08/27/19 10:34 am | updated: 08/27/19 10:34 am

Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, aka Robert Rihmeek Williams, pled guilty on Tuesday, 8/27, to one misdemeanor count of possessing a firearm without a license. All other charges were dropped. This closes his over decade long case stemming from a 2007 arrest on drug and gun charges. Judge Leon Tucker accepted the plea and said, "I know this has been a long road for you and hopefully this will be the end of it."

Mill was originally convicted in a non-jury trial in 2008. The sole witness was the arresting officer Reginald Graham, whose credibility has recently come into question. Graham testified 19-year-old Mill was selling crack and pointed a gun at police. Mill admitted to having a gun at trial but said he did not point it at police. He was found guilty by Judge Genece Brinkley. Brinkley oversaw his probation over the next decade and found him in violation several times, sending him back to jail on occasion. Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned his conviction last month due to the credibility of the witness and also removed Brinkley from the case. DA Larry Krasner had to decide whether to retry or drop the case. This plea deal falls somewhere in the middle.

"Free Meek helped me get to this position," Mill said at a rally outside the courthouse. "Meek freed, I'm not on probation no more. Thank you, I appreciate that a lot. And I just wanted to come up here myself and thank all the supporters because I know y'all probably got family members in jail or people going through the same thing as me and I will continue to do what I do with the reform movement and help the people who helped me." Meek has become an activist in criminal justice reform creating the REFORM Alliance.

"This is a case, as I'm sure you can all understand from the proceedings today, that was not an exoneration, it was not an example of someone who is completely innocent, but it was, in my view, an example of excessive punishment, excessive supervision, in terms of parole. I think it was also an example of some unfair procedures and some questionable integrity," District Attorney Larry Krasner said.

TOP STORIES

(0) responses

Welcome to iradiophilly! Philadelphia's Internet Radio Community

Welcome! Start listening now for FREE! The music is always on, so choose a radio station and click to listen. You can find fun Events around Philly and you can list yours on our Events page FREE. We will also promote cool Philly shows, events and fundraisers on the air FREE. There are also great opportunities to become a sponsor or advertise. iRadioPhilly supports the Philadelphia music and arts scene. If you are a local musician or performer, send us your stuff. We will play it on our BYO radio station, Philadelphia's Local Stage. We're designing the radio stations and iradiophilly to reflect Philadelphia's music tastes, so we'll want your input. We're glad you're here. Invite your friends.

FOLLOW:

Site Design by Bananaland | Built by quadpain media