Comments (...)(MCT) — CHICAGO — Chicago rapper Chief Keef was sentenced Thursday to 60 days in juvenile detention for violating his probation on a previous gun conviction.
Minutes before Judge Carl Anthony Walker imposed the sentence, Chief Keef choked up as he apologized for firing a rifle last summer during an on-camera interview to promote his album, “Finally Rich.”
Reading from a crumpled piece of paper, the 17-year-old pleaded for one more chance, telling the judge he was on the verge of completing his GED and was a new father of two daughters.
His mother, who was present in the courtroom with a few other relatives, let out a loud cry as her son spoke.
“I’m sorry for all the wrong I have done,” Chief Keef told the judge as his lawyer patted him on the back.
The judge ruled on Tuesday that Chief Keef’s actions at a New York gun range violated his 18-month probation sentence for a previous gun conviction and ordered him taken into custody.
Several reporters and police officers crammed the tight courtroom during the approximately half-hour hearing Thursday in the juvenile court complex.
The rapper, whose real name is Keith Cozart, sat hunched over at times while Assistant State’s Attorney Jullian Brevard spoke to the court about the rifle video and the rapper’s gun conviction for pointing a weapon at a Chicago police officer.
Brevard reminded the court about two previous drug arrests on Chief Keef’s record before his 2011 gun conviction. The prosecutor also noted how some of the lyrics in the rapper’s song “Love Sosa” refer to his gun conviction as well as to gangs and drugs.
As part of his probation, Chief Keef was prohibited from having any contact with guns.
“He’s been given ample opportunities to stop this behavior,” Brevard said.
Chief Keef’s lawyer, Dennis Berkson, acknowledged to the court that the video wasn’t a smart decision on his client’s part, but Berkson reiterated his position from Tuesday’s hearing that the video was just an interview.
He also argued that the explicit content in his client’s lyrics doesn’t reflect that the rapper himself is a criminal.
“People say whatever they want in a song. I’m sure that the Beatles said really goofy things in songs,” Berkson said. “It doesn’t mean they were out there to commit a crime.”
