Tray Deee of Tha Eastsidaz was sentenced to 12 years in a California state prison on Wednesday for his role in a 2003 shooting.
Appearing in Long Beach Superior Court, the rapper, born Tracy Lamar Davis, pleaded no contest to shooting at an occupied vehicle and remains in county jail awaiting transfer to an as-yet-undetermined prison, according to prosecutor Cynthia Barnes.
In a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop two charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one firearm-possession charge in exchange for Davis admitting to personal use of a firearm and assistance to a criminal street gang. According to Barnes, the latter charge came in light of evidence that Davis threw a gang sign at two unidentified men seated in a car before opening fire. Neither man was injured in the shooting.
Davis, who formed Tha Eastsidaz with Goldie Loc and Snoop Dogg in 1999, had been in county jail for more than a year awaiting trial. Prior to the incident, Davis and Goldie Loc had accused Snoop of failing to pay them back royalties for their two albums.
Tha Eastsidaz are still signed to TVT and have a handful of songs recorded for their third album, but it is not yet scheduled for release, according to a label spokesperson. It's unknown how Davis' incarceration will affect the completion of the album.
— Gil Kaufman
