YUMA, Ariz. (AP) - A bench warrant has been issued for Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Wayne, who is facing drug and weapons charges in Arizona.

A Yuma County Superior Court judge issued the warrant Tuesday morning after the entertainer, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, failed to appear for a final trial management conference.

But Lil Wayne's attorney says his client couldn't appear because he just began serving a one-year jail sentence in New York for having a loaded gun on his tour bus.

Lil Wayne was arrested in January 2008 at a border checkpoint 78 miles east of Yuma after authorities say they found cocaine, Ecstasy and a handgun on his tour bus.

Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" was the best-selling album of 2008 and won a Grammy for best rap album. His latest album, "Rebirth," was released last month.