A rapper who was performing at a downtown Little Rock nightclub last year when 25 people were injured in gunfire has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge stemming from an alleged shooting days earlier in Forrest City.
Ricky Hampton, who performs under the name Finese 2Tymes, pleaded guilty Monday morning in Little Rock to a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. He is set to be sentenced at a later date.
Under terms of the agreement, he will surrender two pistols to the federal government, along with ammunition.
Hampton is not facing any charges in the July 1, 2017, shooting at the since-shuttered Power Ulta Lounge in Little Rock, but he was performing at the time.
He was charged in the Forrest City case, in which federal authorities said Hampton was armed when he screamed at a woman he believed was blocking his way June 25 as Hampton was leaving a concert.
In federal court Monday, Hampton acknowledged possessing a gun, which he was not allowed to do because he was previously convicted of aggravated robbery in Tennessee.
Hampton has denied that he fired the weapon, and the woman reportedly didn't see who pulled the trigger before her windshield was shot and she was grazed by a bullet.
Hampton was also preliminarily charged in state court with aggravated assault, first-degree battery, two counts of second-degree criminal mischief, first-degree terroristic threatening and possession of a firearm by certain persons, authorities said last year.
The status of the state charges wasn't immediately clear Monday.
Hampton's bodyguard, Kentrell Dominique Gwynn, who faces 10 counts of aggravated assault in the Little Rock shooting, told police he panicked after gunfire started at the Power Ultra Lounge and began shooting at people running toward the club's stage, authorities have said.
Tyler Clay Jackson of Little Rock, who authorities believe fired the initial shots at the Little Rock club, is also facing charges in that case. Twenty-five people were injured by gunfire, and three others were hurt in the rush to flee the scene.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.