T.I. News

The feds are literally pulling out the big guns in an effort to convict T.I. of weapons charges.

According to papers filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, prosecutors will attempt to present evidence showing the hit-making emcee illegally possessed firearms three times prior to his highly publicized arrest last month.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says the priors show T.I. has a history when it comes to illicit weapons.

The rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., was nabbed for allegedly trying to purchase machine guns and silencers Oct. 13, just hours before a scheduled performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards.

He has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts, possession of unregistered weapons and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count.

Judge Alan Baverman allowed T.I. released on $3 million bond and placed him under house arrest with 24-hour electronic and human monitoring until his trial.

Prosecutors hope to introduce three previous arrests, "all after having been convicted of a felony offense."

The first violation took place in December 2001. T.I.'s GMC Yukon was pulled over and cops found a concealed 9 mm pistol, per court papers. He also gave officers the false name of Douglas Morgan. However, the case failed to lead to a conviction.

But T.I. was convicted in a separate case the following November for possessing a 10 mm gun, which was also concealed in the SUV.

The third incident occurred in December 2004, when authorities raided T.I.'s home and found a gun with an attached silencer and a stash of ammunition, along with photographs of him brandishing said guns. That case also failed to result in a conviction.

T.I.'s legal troubles date back to 1998, when the aspiring rapper, then 17, was arrested for selling crack. He was found guilty of felony drug dealing and sentenced to seven years' probation.

Because of that, he's a convicted felon, and it's a federal crime for him to possess any firearms.

His lawyer, Dwight Thomas, could not be reached for comment.

The prosecution maneuvers come exactly one week after Thomas filed motions seeking to get the charges tossed on the grounds that the feds wrongfully detained the entertainer, did not fully inform him of his rights and searched his vehicle without a warrant and without probable cause.

T.I. had sought to hold a large Thanksgiving dinner, but the judge put the kibosh on the festivities after objections by prosecutors.