Bryan Leach, Hip Hop Exec, Arrested for Gun Possession While Driving in NYC

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Rising hip-hop record executive Bryan Leach was arrested driving through New York City on Wednesday with a gun loaded with hollow-point bullets in his car, authorities said.

Leach, an RCA Music Group senior vice president, was pulled over for driving erratically in Manhattan shortly after midnight, prosecutors said. The .380-caliber, semiautomatic pistol gun was in the car's central console, the six bullets inside, according to a court complaint.

Hollow-point bullets expand after impact, which can make injuries worse.

Leach didn't enter a plea at his arraignment on weapons-possession charges. He has a prior criminal record, including a 1994 gun-possession conviction, prosecutors said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Leach has a gun permit. The laws he's charged with violating concerns having a loaded gun outside one's home or business, among other things.

Leach, who's 41, has worked with a roster of rappers including Lil Jon and the bilingual Spanish/English artist Pitbull.

He runs his own label within RCA's stable, Polo Grounds Music. Crain's New York Business named him one of its "rising stars" under 40 in 2007 and cited his role in fostering the Southern-influenced rap style known as crunk. Lil Jon, one of crunk's biggest figures, told Crain's that Leach "was the one exec that decided to take a chance on me."

His lawyer, James McMillan, declined to comment on the charges but noted Leach's personal, professional and charitable commitments.

Outside work, Leach funds several after-school programs, McMillan said. A married father of three children under 10, Leach also takes care of his mother, who suffers from terminal cancer, McMillan said.

"He's financially responsible for all of her treatments," McMillan told a court. A judge set bail at $50,000 bond. McMillan said he expected Leach would post it.

RCA Music had no immediate comment on his arrest, first reported by the New York Post.