Freedom, it appears, was fleeting for G-Unit's Tony Yayo.

After being released from New York's Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility on January 8 after a yearlong sentence (see [article id="1484259"]"Free From Prison, G-Unit's Tony Yayo Gets New Home And Car"[/article]), the rapper is back in prison for violating the terms of his probation.

It's not known yet exactly when Yayo was brought back to the facility and under what circumstances, but suspicions about his return to prison arose after he failed to show for G-Unit's performance on "Saturday Night Live" last weekend. A spokesperson for G-Unit could not confirm that he was remanded back to prison.

One of Yayo's attorneys said he had heard the rapper was released but that reports about his client being back in jail were "news to him."

However, an employee at the facility confirmed that Yayo was indeed there but could not say when the rapper was brought in. Another source close to the case believed Yayo would probably not be locked up for long.

Yayo was arrested on New Year's Eve 2002 along with 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and two other associates on weapons possession charges (see [article id="1459334"]"50 Cent Arrested For Gun Possession"[/article]). He was sent to prison because of outstanding warrants.

In the meantime, on the strength of 50 Cent's chart-topping Get Rich or Die Tryin', G-Unit recorded and released their own successful album, Beg for Mercy, sans Yayo.