Rapper Lil’ Kim, born Kimberly Denise Jones, was arrested on July 24, 1996 for marijuana possession at the home of her friend and mentor, Christopher Wallace, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Teaneck police officers found 50 grams—almost two ounces—of marijuana at the house, as well as four automatic weapons with laser sights, enlarged magazines, and filed-off serial numbers. Police arrested Lil’ Kim along with seven others, including Wallace (better known as Biggie Smalls or Notorious B.I.G.) and members of the Junior M.A.F.I.A. ( Jones’ big career break came in 1994, when Wallace helped promote the Jones’ rap group, the Brooklyn-based Junior M.A.F.I.A.)

In 2003, Teaneck authorities issued an arrest warrant after Lil’ Kim missed several court dates relating to the 1996 incident. Just a year later, in 2004, Jones was back in trouble with the law when she was indicted for perjury before a grand jury. The grand jury was investigating a 2001 shooting outside the Hot 97 FM radio station in Manhattan. In July 2005, she was sentenced to a year and a day in the Philadelphia Detention Center after being found guilty of conspiracy and perjury charges related to the 2001 shooting.