Flavor Flav Pleads Guilty In 2014 Long Island Traffic Stop

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Entertainer Flavor Flav has settled criminal charges stemming from Long Island traffic stop, but his legal headaches are not quite over.

The 56-year-old rapper and reality TV star pleaded guilty in Nassau Criminal Court on Tuesday to one count of unlicensed aggravated operation of a motor vehicle.

Flav, whose real name is William Drayton, was arrested in January 2014 on the Meadowbrook State Parkway in Hempstead while racing to his mother's funeral. He was allegedly driving 79 mph in a 55 mph zone in his black Hyundai and police said he also had a small amount of marijuana.

Acting state Supreme Court Judge Terrence Murphy sentenced Flav to time served, essentially the time he was in custody following the arrest. He also must pay a fine of a little over $3,600.

If convicted at trial, Flav could have faced up to four years in prison. A prosecutor at Tuesday's court proceeding had recommended a six-month sentence.

But Murphy, after lecturing the entertainer on his status as a role model and admonishing him to set an example for young people, indicated he understood there were extenuating circumstances surrounding his arrest.

Wearing his trademark clock around his neck, the rapper thanked his attorney, Todd Greenberg, and Murphy for helping settle the case. He also singled out a state trooper who drove him to his mother's gravesite in his vehicle to make it in time for her memorial service.

"He was the greatest,'' Flav said of the officer.

A state police spokesman confirmed that a trooper had provided the rapper with a ride following his arrest because of the "extenuating circumstances.''

The Roosevelt, Long Island, native currently lives in Las Vegas, where he is still facing criminal charges there for an arrest in May. He faces trial Thursday on charges of misdemeanor speeding, driving under the influence of cocaine and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty but declined to comment Tuesday on those charges.

Flav was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 with the rap group Public Enemy. He has starred in the reality series "The Surreal Life," "Strange Love" and "Flavor of Love."

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