Fabolous Gun Charges Tossed

Josh Grossberg Thu Jun 14, 11:50 AM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Street dreams are made of these.

A Manhattan judge formally dropped illegal weapons charges against Fabolous stemming from an incident last fall in which the hip-hopster was ambushed and shot in the leg. En route to the hospital, he wound up in police custody after officers found two loaded, unlicensed pistols in the car he was riding in.

"I wish I could tell you we're so happy, but the fact of the matter is these charges should never have been brought in the first place," the rapper's attorney, Alberto Ebanks, told E! Online.

Ebanks says that prosecutors conducted a thorough investigation and told the court they did not have enough evidence to prove the 27-year-old Brooklyn emcee and his three codefendants actually were the owners of the handguns.

"We were saying from day one, these charges had no merit," said Ebanks. "He was only guilty of trying to get to the hospital after he was shot. But he's relieved it's over."

Fabolous, aka John Jackson, and three members of his posse were partying at Justin's, a popular eatery and nightclub in Chelsea owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs. During the course of the evening, somebody swiped a $50,000 chain off the neck of then Boston Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair. Soon after, Fabolous' group was standing in a parking garage near the restaurant when an unidentified male opened fire on them.

The "Make Me Better" rapper took a bullet in the right thigh and was helped into a white Dodge Magnum by the other men and the quartet sped off to a nearby hospital. On the way, they ran a red light, which drew the attention of a patrol car.

Police pulled over the car and a search turned up a 9mm and .40 caliber handgun. The foursome was placed under arrest; however, Fabolous was allowed to continue to Bellevue Hospital to receive treatment for the gunshot wound, then transferred to the city jail.

The four men were booked on five counts, including criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a defaced firearm, charges which carried 15 years in the slammer.

Charges against Fabolous' compatriots were also dismissed.