LOS ANGELES – Rapper Snoop Dogg surrendered to police in California on Monday to face charges of possessing a deadly weapon — a baton he tried to carry on an airplane — but posted $150,000 bond and was released.

The 35-year-old entertainer arrived with his lawyer and a bail bondsman at the Orange County jail in Santa Ana, 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles, where he was booked under his real name, Calvin Broadus.

“He turned himself in this morning,” county sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino told Reuters. “He was booked, fingerprinted, had his photo taken and an arrest report was filled out.”

An arrest warrant was issued for Broadus, who as Snoop Dogg has become one of the most recognizable names in pop music, last week after he was charged with possession of a deadly weapon stemming from a September 27 incident at Orange County John Wayne Airport.

The Grammy-nominated entertainer was trying to catch a flight with two bodyguards when airport security spotted a long metal object in his laptop computer case. The officers then discovered a 20-inch collapsible baton inside, prosecutors said.

Though possession of the baton could have been filed as a lesser misdemeanor charge, Broadus was charged with a felony based on his criminal record, prosecutors said. Broadus has said the baton was a prop for a video he was to make and was unaware it was illegal to take it on a plane.

The rap star had been notified in advance of his surrender that he could make arrangements with authorities, but Amormino said the performer surprised deputies when he showed up at the jail unannounced. He was processed immediately and released.

Broadus was arrested in a separate incident in October at the Burbank airport, near Los Angeles, after police said they found a gun and marijuana in his car. He was booked and released on $35,000 bail pending a hearing on December 12.

Snoop Dogg, who has a previous conviction for cocaine possession, made his recording debut in the early 1990s as a gangsta-rap protege of Dr Dre. His 1993 debut album, “Doggystyle,” entered the charts at number one.

He has since become one of the best-known acts in rap and moved toward the mainstream, playing a drug dealer turned informant in the 2004 cop movie “Starsky & Hutch.”

from playfuls.com: Trouble isn’t over for rapper Snoop Dogg who was booked yesterday, October 6th, on one felony count of a lethal weapon possession which was discovered by security officers in a California Airport recently.

The rapper reported to Orange County Jail authorities and according to Susan Schroeder from the district attorney’s office, he was expected to post a $150, 000 bail. If convicted, he could be sentenced to three years in prison.

Snoop Dogg who accompanied during the two-hour field trip by attorney Donald Etra, agreed to appear in court Dec. 12 for arraignment. Etra has labeled the charge “bogus.”

The star’s publicist, Meredith O’Sullivan, released a statement saying the hip-hop star “welcomes an expedited trial which will reveal that these charges are completely unwarranted.”

The incident which led to this occurred on September 27 when Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus was arrested at an airport in California because he was reportedly carrying a gun in his luggage. Broadus was heading to San Francisco at that time and claimed he needed the weapon for a movie and that he was unaware the weapon was illegal. Airport officers retained the object and allowed Snoop Dogg to embark on the plane without citing him.

While the performer was concerting at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Copenhagen, an arrest warrant was issued this Thursday after the count was filed.

The series continued with Snoop Dogg’s arrest on October 26, when according to reports, Snoop Dogg was carrying a gun and a quantity of marijuana in his car during a routine search at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank California. According to Burbank police Sgt. Kevin Grandalski, the musician was stopped for a vehicle code violation, parking in a loading area.

“An investigation revealed Calvin Broadus to be in possession of marijuana and a firearm,” a police statement said.

However, the rapper’s attorney, Donald Etra, claims in a statement that “There was no basis for this arrest. We believe that once this is cleared up, all charges will be dismissed.”

The rapper and actor was bailed out for &35,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on December 13, said his publicist, Meredith O’Sullivan.

Earlier this year, Snoop Dogg was cautioned by police in London following a brawl at Heathrow Airport in which he was arrested with members of his entourage on suspicion of violent disorder and affray.

In 1990, he was arrested for cocaine possession and convicted. Later on, in 1993, he was charged with gun possession after a traffic stop. He pleaded guilty in exchange for three years’ probation. The deal also included him to make a public service announcement against violence.

Three more years passed and in 1996 he was acquitted of murder following the death of an alleged gang member who was shot from the vehicle Snoop Dogg was traveling in.