NATE DOGG GETS PROBATION IN POT CASE

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- Rapper Nate Dogg was sentenced to one year of probation
after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.

The rapper, whose real name is Nathaniel Dawayne Hale, was arrested April
12 after his tour bus was stopped for speeding and a search turned up
marijuana and a loaded, stolen gun.

Hale, 32, also received a $4,400 fine on Friday and was ordered to complete
24 hours of community service and eight hours of drug counseling.

"Mr. Hale thinks it was a fair deal," said Pat Harris, Hale's attorney.

Hale had faced felony charges of possession of marijuana, possession of
drug paraphernalia, possession of a stolen firearm and misconduct involving
weapons while committing a felony.

All the charges were dismissed except for the marijuana possession charge,
which was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

In August, Hale was sentenced in California to three years probation after
pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of possessing an unmarked firearm.

Hale, of Pomona, Calif., got his start with rappers Snoop Dogg and Warren G
in a Long Beach-area group. He later recorded with Dr. Dre on "The Chronic"
and appeared on one of Snoop Dogg's CDs.