Snoop Dogg denies weapons charges

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Rap artist "Snoop Dogg" was charged Thursday with one felony count of knowingly possessing a deadly weapon -- a collapsible baton -- while trying to board a plane in California, authorities in Orange County said.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Snoop Dogg -- whose real name is Calvin Broadus -- said he denies the charges brought against him by the Orange County District Attorney and called the baton "a prop."

If convicted the 35-year old musician from Sherman Oaks would face a maximum sentence of three years in state prison. A warrant has been issued for his arrest with $150,000 bail.

Snoop Dogg is accused of entering the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California on September 27 accompanied by two bodyguards to catch a flight to San Francisco.

"After placing his carry-on luggage on the security conveyer belt to be scanned, security officers saw a long object in his computer bag and requested to search inside," the district attorney's office said in a written statement.

"Broadus is accused of carrying in the laptop case a 20-inch collapsible baton, which shrinks to eight-inches. The law classifies these types of weapons as dangerous and illegal."

In a statement, spokeswoman Meredith O'Sullivan said Snoop Dogg "inadvertently had a prop in his carry-on luggage.

"This charge mocks the protections our country has in place to safeguard itself from real security threats and is celebrity 'head-hunting' by attention-seeking prosecutors," O'Sullivan said in the statement. "A jury will see this case for the publicity ploy it is, and the taxpayers will wonder why their tax dollars aren't being used to investigate real crimes and threats."

"These charges are bogus. The DA knows that, Snoop knows that. If this goes to trial, we will win," lawyer Donald Etra told The Associated Press.

Snoop Dogg, who has sold over 17 million records and starred in a few movies, has had several other run-ins with the law.

He was convicted on a felony narcotics possession charge in 1990, for trying to sell cocaine.

Seven months ago he and several members of his entourage were detained by police at London's Heathrow Airport after a skirmish that left seven police officers with minor injuries.

The incident happened after Snoop Dogg and his crew were told by the airline they would not be permitted to board a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, Scotland Yard said. As police tried to direct the group to baggage reclaim, they became "abusive and pushed officers," according to Scotland Yard. The seven police officers received minor injuries, including cuts and bruises, and one suffered a fractured hand.

While in England for his 1994 "Doggystyle" tour, he was nearly kicked out of the country after a Tory minister and several British tabloids raised objections to his presence while he faced charges in the United States for murder, of which he was later cleared.

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