CNN.com - Eminem pleads 'no contest' to weapons charges


Eminem pleaded "no contest" to charges of carrying a concealed weapon.

PONTIAC, Michigan (CNN) -- Rap star Eminem entered a "no contest" plea to weapons charges Monday in an Oakland County Circuit Court.

Judge Denise Langford Morris set June 5 as the sentencing date after indicating that she probably won't sentence the rapper to any time in prison.

Eminem, whose name is Marshall Mathers III was charged with possessing a concealed weapon and brandishing that weapon after a confrontation last summer in Royal Oak, Michigan, with the manager of a rival music group.

The weapons charge is a felony and has a maximum sentence of five years. The brandishing charge is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 90 days.

Asked in advance of his entering the plea how she might rule, Morris said she believed the sentence she hands down will not require jail time.

If she changes her mind, she said, she would give Eminem the opportunity to withdraw his no contest plea and stand trial.

Eminem is already serving two years probation for an earlier concealed weapons charge.

In that case, Judge Antonio Viviano sentenced Eminem to probation after Macomb County prosecutors dropped a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, which carries a 4 year sentence.

Those charges stemmed from an incident last summer outside the Hot Rocks Cafe in Warren, Michigan, where Mathers was accused of clubbing another man with a handgun.