Black Rob, a rapper in Sean "Puffy" Combs' stable of artists who has been a fugitive since May 26, was arrested Tuesday morning and jailed on weapons charges, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said.

The Bad Boy Entertainment artist turned himself in at Manhattan Criminal Court in the company of his attorney, Gary Becker. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a felony. Black Rob will remain in jail at least until his next court date, Aug. 29.

Tuesday's arrest stems from a May 21 incident in which Black Rob stopped his silver Ford Taurus on Manhattan's Upper West Side to sign an autograph for a fan. New York Police Department officers say they saw the 31-year-old rapper (born Robert Ross) pass a .22-caliber Derringer pistol to passenger Kwame Thomas, 29. Police arrested Black Rob and Thomas.

Black Rob was given a May 26 court date, but he never showed and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Officers of

the NYPD Warrant Squad had been looking for him since.

The rapper originally had been released on a $10,000 bond. This time, he's being kept under lock and key without bail. "Parole has a hold on him," said Gloria Montealegre, a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. She said there was no indication of where Black Rob had been for the past few weeks.

Becker did not return a call for comment by press time. A message left at Bad Boy in New York was not returned.

Black Rob's current CD, Life Story, includes guest appearances by Combs and singer/actress Jennifer Lopez.