LOS ANGELES -- Rap artist "Snoop Dogg" was charged Thursday with one felony count of knowingly possessing a deadly weapon -- a baton -- while trying to board a plane in California, authorities in Orange County said.
A spokeswoman for Snoop Dogg -- aka Calvin Broadus-- released a written statement today which said Dogg denies the charges brought against him, calling the baton "a prop," and claiming he was "framed by Katie Couric."
The baton was part of twirling routine, the statement said, which Dogg is practicing in preparation for an on-air competition with Katie Couric as part of charity benefit in which the loser has to give $100,000 to the winner's charity.
The two charities are "White Bread Ventures," Couric's charitable education program which teaches basic baking skills to suburban pre-teens, and "DoggHouse," Snoop Dogg's non-profit entity which provides shelter for men who have been rendered temporarily homeless by their significant others.
Couric tipped off authorities, Snoop Dogg claims, to keep him from properly preparing for the face off -- and to get the jump on the competition on what was the lead story on Thursday's CBS Evening News show.
Couric also did it, says Dogg, because she knew she didn't stand a chance against him in a straight-up contest.
"It takes curls to do the twirls," said Dogg. "Ain't no honky, no honky broad, stickin' and flickin' like the Dogg."
Dogg's statement noted that Couric was part of the NBC Dateline Olympic coverage in 1994 when the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal broke -- along with Kerrigan's kneecap. "The girl is quick, she is slick -- even if she can't swing no stick," the statement concludes.
If convicted the 35-year old musician from Sherman Oaks would face a potential sentence of three years in state prison. A warrant has been issued for his arrest with bail set at $150,000 for entering the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif. on Sept. 27 carrying in his laptop case a collapsible baton, which can shrink from 20-inches to eight-inches. The law classifies these types of weapons as dangerous and illegal.
Snoop Dogg, who has sold over 17 million records and starred in a several movies, has had other notable run-ins with the law.
These include a conviction on a felony narcotics possession charges in 1990, for attempting to sell cocaine, and a skirmish earlier this year at London's Heathrow Airport that left seven police officers with minor injuries, one with a fractured hand.
In 1994 during his "Doggystyle" tour, Snoop Doggy Dogg, as he was known then, was nearly kicked out of England 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.
At this time Mr. Dogg is reported to be resting comfortably in his Long Beach crib -- and working on his routine.
Copyright 2006, Douglas Salguod
