Lil Wayne tour bus shooting leads to gang charges

By Rich McKay ATLANTA (Reuters) - An Atlanta man faces charges including aggravated assault and gang activity for shooting at Grammy-winning rap music star Lil Wayne's tour buses, police said on Friday. Jimmy Carlton Winfrey, 25, fired at the two tour buses last month in order to gain street credibility, according to local media reports, which identified Winfrey as a member of the Bloods gang. About a dozen people, including music executives, were riding the buses after the rapper's April 26 performance at an Atlanta nightclub. Winfrey fired from a moving vehicle on a metropolitan Atlanta highway, police said. No one was injured. Cobb County Police charged Winfrey with felony counts of aggravated assault, terroristic acts, gang activity, felony possession of a firearm, and criminal damage to property. Officer Alicia Chilton, a spokeswoman for Cobb police, said the arrest warrant was sealed and will not be made public. The charges against Winfrey were released on Thursday. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing the warrant, reported that the Winfrey's motive was "to gain status in his criminal organization by committing a high profile shooting of a rival rap artist" and that he has "associated himself with known blood gang members in the Atlanta area.” Wayne won Grammy awards in 2008 for best rap album, best rap song, and best rap solo performance and was part of the award-winning best rap group performance. The New Orleans native has seen run-ins with the law on weapons and drug charges and went to prison in New York in a gun case. In March, a report of a shooting at a Miami Beach home belonging to Wayne, born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was declared a hoax by police. It was not clear whether Winfrey was taken into custody. A representative for Wayne could not immediately be reached for comment. (Editing by Letitia Stein and Lisa Lambert)