The G-Unit is now officially back to full strength. Group member Tony Yayo was released from New York’s Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility on Thursday (January 8) according to published reports.

The G-Unit’s deejay, DJ Whookid, told WQHT on Friday (January 9) that the rapper’s close friends threw a party for him on Thursday night and that he was presented with the keys to a new home and car.

Yayo was arrested along with 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and two other men on December 31, 2002. They were arrested after police searched their sport utility vehicle which was parked illegally in a no-standing zone in front of the Copacabana nightclub in New York City.

Police found a .25-caliber and a .45-caliber handgun in the search. The men were each charged with four counts of criminal weapons possession. Yayo, who had other outstanding warrants, was detained and ordered to serve jail time, while 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and the other men were allowed to post bail.

Fans can catch the newly freed Tony Yayo when the G-Unit performs on Saturday Night Live on NBC on January 17.

Credit: Launch