Timeline leading to arrest of T.I. Staff report Published on: 10/14/2007
Documents released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Saturday detail the 11-day investigation that resulted in the arrest of Atlanta rapper Clifford "T.I." Harris:
—Oct. 2: Harris' bodyguard asks a licensed gun dealer about buying a machine gun without registering it, as required by law. The dealer reports the incident to ATF agents, who give the dealer the cell phone number of an undercover ATF agent, posing as a machine gun dealer, to pass along to the bodyguard. The bodyguard calls the number within hours.
—Oct. 10: Harris arranges for the bodyguard to pick up $12,000 in cash from his bank on Northside Parkway to buy the weapons. Later, the bodyguard meets with the undercover agent at a K-Mart store, 5997 Buford Highway, Doraville. The bodyguard gives the agent $2,200 and a .223-caliber pistol in exchange for three 9mm machine guns and two 9mm silencers. The bodyguard is then arrested. He tells agents he was buying the guns for Harris. He also says he has purchased about 25 firearms over the past 18 months for Harris and others. ATF agents confirm the purchases.
—Oct. 11: After agreeing to cooperate with the ATF, the bodyguard makes a monitored phone call to Harris. He tells Harris that he has "everything for you."
—Oct. 12: Harris calls his bodyguard and arranges for him to deliver the firearms the next day.
—Oct. 13, between 12:30 and 1 p.m.: Harris calls the bodyguard and asks him to bring the items to a recording studio. At the direction of ATF agents, the bodyguard suggests that they instead meet at a shopping center parking lot at the corner of Piedmont and North avenues in Atlanta.
—2:22 p.m.: Harris arrives at the parking lot. The bodyguard gets into Harris' vehicle and shows him the machine guns and silencers. When the bodyguard explains the function of one silencer, Harris says, "No flash, no bang." Harris also asks about ammunition, the capacity of the magazine and about "change left over" from the $12,000. Authorities then move in and arrest Harris without incident. A search of his vehicle uncovers three firearms, including one tucked between the driver's seat and the center console.
—2:40 p.m.: ATF agents begin searching Harris's home at 429 Creekview Lane, College Park. They find three rifles, two pistols and a revolver in a walk-in closet in his bedroom. Five of the firearms are loaded.
—Monday: Harris, held in federal custody over the weekend, is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court on two felony charges: possession of unregistered machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
Source: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
