T.I. EXPECTED TO ENTER PLEA

T.I. today is expected to enter a plea of guilty to multiple weapons charges.

When he is sentenced at a later date, he faces about a year of prison time. He is expected to agree to spend a great deal of time on community service speaking to youth groups across the country. He will reportedly face stiff prison time of “several years in prison” if he finds himself in trouble with the law again.

T.I. was indicted in October on weapons charges that include illegally possessing three machine guns and two silencers and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Federal prosecutors and T.I.’s defense team have been engaged in intense plea negotiations the past several weeks. The plea agreement must be approved by a federal judge. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Charles Pannell Jr., who will preside over today's plea.

He was arrested in a sting in a Midtown parking lot on Oct. 13 as he allegedly tried to buy the weapons just hours before he was to receive two top awards at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.

T.I. and Atlantic Records provided the cash to cover two-thirds of the bond and the balance was secured by his Georgia property. He has been living there Tiny and his children.