News : T.I. Released To Halfway

 Rapper’s lawyer says he was released from federal custody Tuesday afternoon.

T.I. isn’t home yet, but the rapper appears to be on the road to freedom as he was released from prison custody on Tuesday (December 22) and is on the way to a halfway house to serve out the remainder of his sentence, his attorney told MTV News. Tip was serving a year-long sentence for felony weapons charges at a low-security federal prison in Forest City, Arkansas.

A report from XXL magazine on Tuesday morning first indicated that that rapper had been released. Steve Sadow, a lawyer who represented T.I. in the case, confirmed the information to MTV News, but as of press time, he wasn’t sure if his client had arrived at the halfway house.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the rapper will be serving out the remainder of his sentence at Dismas Charities Atlanta West in Georgia. A spokesperson for Dismas could not be reached at press time.

Last week, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told MTV News that T.I. could be sent to a halfway house in January.

“If his full-term release date is in March, it’s not uncommon for an individual to be released to a halfway house to serve out the last portion of their federal sentence,” Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Edmond Ross explained. “There are a number of factors that need to be considered: if the person is not a danger to the community, the current offense, the individual’s prior criminal history, the availability of programs and space availability.”

According to a representative for the agency who spoke with MTV news on Tuesday, however, prison records indicated that T.I. was still in custody at Forest City. A rep for the rapper’s label had no comment on the matter, but multiple sources close to the rapper’s camp suggested that he was in fact released to the home on Tuesday.

T.I. was originally sentenced in April of this year to serve 366 days in prison following an October 2007 arrest for illegally attempting to purchase firearms. He began his prison stint in May, after serving over 1000 hours of community service as a part of a plea deal he struck with prosecutors to avoid a lengthy jail sentence. When he is released from the halfway home, he will have to complete 500 more hours of community service and serve out the rest of his home confinement, which could be upwards of 20 to 60 days.