STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A rap artist whose career highs include performing alongside The Notorious B.I.G. and whose personal lows have landed him in a state prison cell on robbery charges has been arrested once again, this time charged with keeping a gun in a sock and drugs in a bedroom safe.

Shyheim Franklin, 35, has been arrested on felony charges, after an early-morning raid of his 185 St. Mark's Pl. apartment in St. George turned up a gun and drugs, police allege.

The raid took place Friday at 6:15 a.m. -- members of the Staten Island Gang Squad used a warrant to search Franklin's apartment, where under his mattress they reported finding a sock with a .32 caliber Serrifile Inc. Terrier One revolver and five rounds of ammo inside, according to court papers. Franklin's criminal record means he has no business possessing a gun, according to court papers.

Police also found 41 glassines of heroin in a safe under his bed, a Xanax pill in a plastic zipper bag on his bedside table, and a scale alongside empty bags and glassines under his bed, court papers allege.

Franklin, who has performed under the names Manchild and Little Shyheim, was a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, and put out his first album at 15 years old. Since then, he has worked with RZA and Tupac Shakur, and he shared the stage at Madison Square Garden with The Notorious B.I.G.

He also has a film and television resume -- with IMDb.com showing acting credits on eight movies, two of them straight-to-video, and three episodes of the 1996-97 television series "The Parent 'Hood."

Stories in the Advance archive and public records also detail his criminal history and his past brushes with violence. He was the victim of a slashing in 1997, and in 1998, he received probation after he was found with a gun stolen from the LAPD six years prior.

In 1999, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death at a Stapleton nightclub during a release party for one of Franklin's CDs.

In 2002, Franklin was sentenced to two years in state prison after he was convicted of second-degree attempted robbery. He was conditionally released after about 16 months, records show.

Franklin was arraigned in Stapleton Criminal Court on Saturday, on several felony and misdemeanor charges, including second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to information from District Attorney Daniel Donovan's office.

As of Monday night he remains in Rikers Island, held on $10,000 bail until his next court appearance, on Tuesday.

---

Follow @siadvance on Twitter, join us on Facebook

