T.I. Testifies In Shooting Case

He testified for about 30 minutes in the trial of Thomas, who is accused of firing the shot that killed T.I.’s assistant Philant Johnson during a gun battle on an Ohio stretch of Interstate 75 after a post-concert party.

“All of those rounds were fired for me, in my opinion,” he said, adding that he later apologized to Johnson’s mother when he called her with the news.

Testifying for the prosecution, T.I. described seeing Johnson, whom he called his best and oldest friend, after their van pulled over. He said Johnson was lying lifeless, blood running down his face from a shot into his left temple.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, said he and Johnson grew up together in Atlanta.

He testified that after calling Johnson’s mother, he talked to Johnson’s young daughter, whom he said was just 4 or 5 years old.

“I told her that he was gone to a better place and he won’t be coming back. And I hold her how much he loved her,” he said.
T.I. was not injured in the shootout. Thomas was identified as the shooter by his brother, Padron.

The rap star has had his own legal problems of late. He is to begin serving a one-year sentence in March after completing 1,000 hours of community service for federal weapons charges.

He was arrested in October 2007 before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta for allegedly trying to buy automatic weapons.