T.I MAY GET HOUSE ARREST

Multiple sources within T.I.'s camp inform me that T.I., real name, Clifford Harris Jr., could get house arrest if his lawyers plead successfully at a hearing this Friday. T.I.'s lawyers will seek an order similar to the pre-sentence order that suspended Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is currently under. Vick tested positive for marijuana last month and was ordered by a federal judge to remain on house arrest every night while awaiting sentencing on a dogfighting charge.

T.I. was arrested last Saturday after attempting to take possession of machine guns and silencers from his bodyguard in a shopping center parking lot. A bail hearing in federal court on Monday (10/15) was postponed until Friday (10/19).

In an interview with the AJC following Monday's hearing, Steve Sadow, one of T.I.'s lawyers said he requested Harris's bond hearing be postponed until Friday to give the defense team more time to prepare. But sources say Sadow and another of T.I.'s lawyers, Dwight Thomas, are preparing to ask U.S. Magistrate Alan Baverman to place T.I. on house arrest under electronic surveillance or require him to wear an ankle monitoring device as a condition of his bond. "This would ensure the public's safety as well as allow [T.I.] to continue to support his family until his trial comes up," said a source who is familiar with the case.

But a prominent Atlanta attorney said T.I.'s background will be a factor in the judge's decision - "I understand [T.I.] violated his probation with a previous gun charge, not to mention the felony conviction on drug charges in Cobb County," said the attorney, who asked to remain anonymous. "The judge will also take into consideration the company that the young man keeps," said the attorney referring to the two rappers signed to T.I.'s label who were named in the federal affidavit for allegedly providing T.I. with guns. "All of those factors will weigh heavily against him when he goes before the judge," the attorney explained.