Could T.I. Really Go Back to Prison for Drug Bust?

It will ultimately be up to probation officer to determine whether rapper's in violation following arrest for possible Ecstasy possession

Big things poppin' in probation land. And none of 'em good.

With news that T.I. was collared in Los Angeles last night on drug-possession charges, inquiring minds want to know if the King of the South will be reigning over a prison cell once again.

Here's what we know.

T.I. is just six months into three years of supervised release for  2008 conviction on federal weapons charges. Under the terms of his sentence, he was ordered not to commit any kind of crime, avoid possessing a controlled substance, submit to random drug tests and enroll in drug and alcohol treatment.

Any slip-up could land him back behind bars.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department confirmed that officers pulled over the entertainer's car for allegedly making an illegal U-turn on the Sunset Strip late Wednesday. Officer serached the car after smelling marijuana, and took T.I. and his missus, singer/BET star Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, into custody for possession of "pills resembling Ecstacy."

"It was not cocaine," said department spokeswoman Nicole Nishi "It's not methamphetamine. They were pills resembling Ecstasy. At this point the pills are being tested as we speak to confirm."

T.I., 29, and Cottle, 36, were booked on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and released early Thursday on $10,000 bail each.

Their arraignment has not yet been set (it won't take place for two months, according to Nishi), and prosecutors in his weapons case aren't rushing to judgment.

"The probation office is in the process of determining what happened and will make a recommendation regarding Mr. Harris when they have all the facts," said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, whose office prosecuted the guns case.

One of T.I.'s lawyers, Don Samuel, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the hip-hopster is now headed back to his hometown and should arrive "in the next 24 hours."

"It's almost certain he'll end up appearing before the court here. But without knowing all the facts, it's premature to speculate what the court is likely to do," Samuel said.

Another member of T.I.'s legal team, Ed Garland, said that T.I. reported last night's arrest as required to his supervisor, who told the rapper to report as soon as he's back in Atlanta.

T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records, also took the wait-and-see tact, saying, "It would be premature to speculate about the current situation given that there is an ongoing investigation of this matter."

Should his probation officer find him in violation, T.I. could be ordered to undergo more drug counseling and be required to submit to random drug tests. Or in the worst case scenario, a judge could revoke his probation, which would send him back to prison.

T.I. spent seven months in a federal prison in Arkansas before he was released to a 90-day stint in a halfway house last March from his illegal-weapons rap. As part of his community service, he ended up paying visits to Georgia schools using his misfortune as an example to urge kids to stay out of trouble.

Let's hope they ignored him.

—Additional Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum and Whitney English