Snoop Dogg is looking to avoid the pound.
The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of possessing a deadly weapon, stemming from his attempt to board a plane while carrying a collapsible police baton in September.
He was not required to attend the hearing and entered his plea through his attorney. Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino set an Apr. 5 pretrial hearing in the matter.
Snoop was bound for San Francisco from Orange County's John Wayne Airport Sept. 27 when he was stopped after security officers spotted the baton in his carry-on luggage when it was X-rayed.
The rapper claimed he was unaware the baton was illegal and that he planned to use it as a prop in a video.
Airport police confiscated the baton but allowed the rapper to continue on his way. Several weeks later, authorities decided to press charges in the case and issued a warrant for Snoop's arrest.
Snoop turned himself in Nov. 6 and was booked on the felony weapon charge. He posted $150,000 bail and was released.
If he is convicted on the baton rap, he could serve up to three years in prison.
The rapper seems to have bad luck when it comes to airports—or maybe just bad judgment.
Following his baton mishap in September, he was arrested again at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank on Oct. 26 after a search of his car turned up a gun and marijuana.
Because he is a convicted felon as the result of a 1990 cocaine bust, the rapper is permanently barred from possessing firearms.
After posting $35,000 bail, Snoop was released, only to be arrested again Nov. 28 when police pulled him over in Burbank as he left a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Their mission was to serve him with a search warrant stemming from his October arrest.
In the ensuing search of the rapper's vehicle, police discovered another handgun, as well as quantities of marijuana and cocaine and an illegal false compartment. Snoop was hauled off to jail once again and released after he posted $60,000 bail.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office has yet to file formal charges in the rapper's latter two arrests, because the cases are still under review.