The Fire This Time: Lil Wayne Dodges Jail, Again

Hundreds had to leave building

Rap star Lil Wayne's sentencing in a New York City gun case has been postponed because of a courthouse fire, a court spokesman says.
       
The rapper had been expected to start a one-year jail term after sentencing Tuesday. He pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
       
Courts spokesman David Bookstaver said the sentencing was among proceedings canceled due a basement fire at a Lower Manhattan courthouse. Hundreds had to be evacuated.
       
The 27-year-old rapper entered his plea in October. He admitted having a loaded gun on his tour bus in July 2007. Wayne already avoided his sentencing once before in February because he needed to get dental surgery.
       
He has become one of rap's biggest names and music's biggest sellers in recent years.

Courts spokesman David Bookstaver says Tuesday's fire apparently started in a wooden contractor's shed. The building contains many criminal courts.
       
Court officers helped a woman with an oxygen mask walk out of the courthouse. A haze filled the lobby.
       
Mirasol Caramuna had traveled an hour from her Bronx home to pay a traffic ticket. Then she was ordered outside. It was around 45 degrees.
       
Defense lawyer Robert B. Kronenberg raced up from the lobby by elevator to a smoky 16th floor to get his briefcase, then walked back down to get out.
       
It's unclear how many inmates were there for court dates, and where they were taken.

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