Houston rapper charged with credit card abuse

Houston rapper Lil' Flip is in some trouble, the Chronicle reports: Lil' Flip (whose real name is Wesley Eric Weston Jr.) turned himself in to police on a charge of credit card abuse this weekend, and he's due in court today.

Weston, known as the "freestyle king" for his ability to improvise, is accused of buying a $671 Southwest Airlines ticket to Baltimore from Houston on June 8 with an American Express card held by a man identified as Jordan Salinger, according to a court document. Salinger, whose relationship, if any, with Weston is unknown, told authorities he did not authorize the purchase, according to the document.

Weston told authorities the ticket was purchased by a Kevin Frank. Frank told officials he neither made the purchase nor knew Weston, according to the court record, which also indicates a man identified only as Wesley bought the ticket by phone an hour before takeoff.

Community activist Quanell X, who accompanied Lil' Flip to the Harris County Courthouse on Saturday, defended the rapper: "It has more to do with people around him, and not the man himself. The man is not a criminal; he's never been in trouble," he said. We do have to wonder why Lil' Flip — who, according to county records, owns an $800,000 home in northwest Harris County — would buy a $671 airplane ticket with a stolen credit card instead of using his own money, but we guess that'll come out eventually.