T.I. Begins Serving Prison Sentence

T.I. checked into a low-security prison in Arkansas on Tuesday to start serving a 366-day sentence.

Authorities told The Associated Press that the Atlanta rapper has been booked into the Federal Correction Institution in Forrest City, Ark., to serve a year and a day sentence on weapons charges.

Prison spokeswoman Linda Thomas says T.I. has entered the prison, but didn’t specify an intake time.

Tip reportedly missed his noon check-in deadline. A black van with Georgia license plates and tinted windows pulled up to the prison at 12:29 p.m. CST. The van was escorted to the prison grounds by guards and prison officials in three vehicles.

T.I. will remain in prison until May 27, 2010 if he serves his full term. He is eligible for a 15 percent “good time” credit, which would reduce his sentence by 55 days.

“What I need y’all to do is pray for me while I’m gone,” he told 16,000 fans at his farewell concert in Atlanta on Sunday. “I’ll see y’all in 366 days.”