A rising hip-hop record executive was arrested driving through New York City on Wednesday with a gun loaded with hollow-point bullets in his car, authorities said.

RCA Music Group senior vice president Bryan Leach, who has worked with a roster of rappers including Lil Jon and the bilingual Spanish/English artist Pitbull, didn't enter a plea at his arraignment on weapons-possession charges.

Leach was pulled over for driving erratically in Manhattan shortly after midnight, prosecutors said. The .380-caliber, semiautomatic pistol gun was in the car's central console, the six bullets inside, according to a court complaint.

Hollow-point bullets expand after impact, a feature that can make injuries worse.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Leach has a gun permit. The laws he's charged with violating concern having a loaded gun outside one's home or business, among other things.

His lawyer, James McMillan, declined to comment on the charges but noted Leach's personal, professional and charitable commitments.

Leach, 41, runs his own label within RCA's stable, Polo Grounds Music. Crain's New York Business named him one of its "rising stars" under 40 in 2007 and cited his role in fostering the Southern-influenced rap style known as crunk. Lil Jon, one of crunk's biggest figures, told Crain's that Leach "was the one exec that decided to take a chance on me."

Outside work, Leach funds several after-school programs, McMillan said. A married father of three children under 10, Leach also takes care of his mother, who suffers from terminal cancer, McMillan said.

"He's financially responsible for all of her treatments," McMillan told a court. A judge set bail at $50,000 bond. McMillan said he expected Leach would post it.

Leach has a prior criminal record, including a 1994 gun-possession conviction, prosecutors said.

RCA Music had no immediate comment on his arrest, first reported by the New York Post.

On Friday (October 23), Cash Money Records CEOs Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams spoke out for the first time since their franchise artist Lil Wayne plead guilty to gun possession Thursday in New York City. Not surprisingly, the two record executives declared their unwavering support of Wayne. He's been with the brothers for more than 15 years now, and they consider him not just an act on the roster, but family. In fact, both Baby and Slim appeared alongside Wayne in court on Thursday.

"The Cash Money family will continue to support our artist and friend Lil Wayne in his current court case," the Williams brothers said in a joint statement. "We have worked with Wayne since he was a teenager, and have seen him grow into one of the world's most successful hip-hop artists, with a work ethic that is second to none. Wayne has our love and commitment during this difficult time. We always have and always will stand behind him."

Amazon.com Widgets

Wayne is due for sentencing in February of 2010. At that time he is expected to be sentenced to a year in prison, and will probably serve eight to 10 months, assuming good behavior.

The incident took place in July 2007, when police pulled over Wayne's tour bus at around 11:30 p.m. on the night of his show at New York's Beacon Theatre. They arrested the rapper for criminal possession of...More LIL WAYNE

NEW YORK â€" Lil Wayne appeared before a Manhattan Superior Court Judge on Thursday for his gun-possession charge stemming from a 2007 arrest, but did not speak as his lawyer filed a motion for additional discovery that will see the arresting officer called into court next month.

At the heart of the motion is an alleged inconsistency between the arresting officer's account and that of the detective that filed the police report.

Both officers and Wayne are scheduled to appear in court next on May 20.

The judge, Charles Solomon, asked Wayne's attorney, Stacey Richman, to call any additional witnesses on that day as well. Originally, jury selection for the trial was slated to begin this week. However, Wayne's legal team and...click to continue reading

The Lil Wayne BVConnect