JOLIET – A local rap artist told a judge Thursday he has matured from his gang-affiliated past.

But Deondray T. Hall, 24, said local police have persecuted him for years, possibly as "payback" after he received money from a lawsuit against the department when he was 16.

“I won’t say all the officers on the Joliet Police Department are out to get me, but there are some,” Hall said. “I’m so used to be harassed.”

Hall faces two to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted escape, but prosecutors agreed not to seek more than six years behind bars. Charges of being an armed habitual criminal and possession of a firearm by a street gang member were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Defense attorney Jeff Tomczak told Judge Daniel Rozak that Hall has a burgeoning career in rap music under the stage name “Star Money” and made that his life’s focus. After being released from prison on drug charges in January 2014, Hall performed several concerts in the area and made four music videos during the next five months.

Hall “cleaned up” his lyrics during performances for young audiences, Tomczak said. Some of those videos were played during earlier court proceedings.

On May 22, 2014, Hall was a passenger in a car stopped by Joliet officers after a handgun was tossed from the passenger window, according to police reports. Hall was taken into custody and admitted trying to open the back door of the squad car as he was driven to the police station.

“The driver had the gun. [Hall’s] prints weren’t on it. He didn’t even breathe on it. His DNA wasn’t on it,” Tomczak noted.

Hall, who put on a pair of spectacles to address Rozak, said he regrets the immature decisions he made as a juvenile, but cannot change his past.

Assistant Will County State’s Attorney Chris Regis said Hall’s conduct refutes the argument he’s turned his life around to focus on performing.

“This case has nothing to do with rap music. It has everything to do with a young man who can’t stop committing felonies,” Regis said. “[Rozak] heard from officers from three different police departments on a common theme – the defendant fights the police, he runs from the police.”

Regis said the videos Rozak watched aren’t a marketing tool for audiences interested in the gangster lifestyle, but promote a very specific gang – likely alienating rival gangs.

Rozak is set to decide Hall’s sentence March 17.