By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A hip-hop record company executive with a criminal past was charged with gun possession on Wednesday after he was pulled over and searched on the Upper West Side for allegedly driving recklessly.
Polo Grounds Records CEO and producer Bryan Leach, 41, allegedly had a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets in the center console of his 2006 Bentley Continental when he was pulled over, according to prosecutors and news reports.
Leach has had a prior history of gun and drug convictions, prosecutors said at his arraignment Wednesday. Bail was set at $50,000 bond of $25,000 cash, which Leach's lawyer, James McMillan, said his client would post.
The hip-hop producer is credited with discovering Lil' Jon and the Ying Yang Twins, the New York Post reported. He was allegedly driving erratically after celebrating his 41st birthday, the paper said.
McMillan said Leach has not been arrested in 17 years, adding that his client is a married father of three who is caring and providing for his terminally-ill mother.
Prosecutors said they will present the case to a grand jury on Friday, when Leach is next scheduled to appear in court.
