A judge sentenced NLE Choppa to a year of probation in the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Friday (December 8). According to the Miami Herald, the 21-year-old rapper avoided jail by pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges after striking a deal with prosecutors.

NLE Choppa was arrested for burglary, carrying a concealed firearm and drug possession in 2021. Prosecutors dropped the drug charge and reduced the remaining two charges to misdemeanors in the plea deal.

Police said NLE Choppa and other masked men jumped over the fence of a tow yard before entering a silver Ford Expedition located in the lot in March 2021. Cops conducted a traffic stop at the lot and found a fully loaded Glock 27 and AK-47 Draco pistol in the vehicle. Police also discovered marijuana and Xanax pills in a backpack.

NLE Choppa, whose real name is Bryson Potts, told police he jumped over the fence to recover a watch from a car in the tow yard. He admitted the backpack, which allegedly contained drugs, was his but insisted he did not know about the guns in the vehicle.

The Warner Records artist claimed cops planted drugs on him following his arrest. NLE Choppa believed he was targeted because he stood for “something deep” and helped change people’s lives.

“During this arrest, I was setup,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) in 2021. “Substances were planted on me that I don’t consume/use/own, my name was lied upon, and I was even mistreated in the process … This case will be beat and I will walk a free man, remember it’s innocent until proven guilty not guilty until proven innocent.”

NLE Choppa must complete 40 hours of community service and a firearm safety course per the terms of his sentence. He will be allowed to travel in the U.S. and internationally while on probation.