Juvenile News

The "Back That Azz Up" emcee was busted on pot-possession charges in Meridian, Mississippi, Tuesday, just days before he was due in New Orleans to take part in NBA All-Star Game festivities.

Major Philip Frazier of the Lauderdale County Police Department tells E! News that Juvenile was driving along Interstate 20/59 in his Land Rover when a local cruiser pulled him over for   an expired tag. Officers then searched the vehicle, turning up less than an ounce of the green stuff.

The 32-year-old hip-hopster, real name Terius Gray, was taken into custody and transported to  county jail for booking. Another passenger was in the Land Rover but was not charged.

"It was a routine traffic stop," Frazier says. "He was charged with having an expired tag and misdemeanor possession of marijuana."

The rapper was released a few hours later, after posting a $622 bond. The New Orleans native was said to be making his way home from Atlanta at the time of his arrest.

No word yet when he's next due in court. A rep for Juvenile was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

This is not Juve's first bout of delinquent behavior.

Back in 1999, he was collared for resisting an officer after getting into a fracas in a Florida mall.  Most of those charges were dropped and, in a subsequent civil trial, the jury ruled in Juvenile's favor, determining that he didn't cause a knee injury to the cop who was involved.

In 2003, the rapper was nabbed and charged with child abandonment and failing to pay child support for his then-six-month-old daughter. That same year, Juvenile struck a man upside the head with a champagne bottle and ended up pleading guilty to felony battery and received 75 hours of community service.