Entertainment Music Cage the Elephant's Matt Shultz Pleads Guilty to N.Y.C. Gun Possession Charges and Takes No-Jail Deal Shultz's lawyer tells PEOPLE the musician "has worked hard to put this isolated episode behind him and is appreciative of the opportunity to move forward in a positive manner" By Jack Irvin Jack Irvin Jack Irvin has over five years of experience working in digital journalism, and he’s worked at PEOPLE since 2022. Jack started in the industry with internships at Rolling Stone and Entertainment Tonight, and he worked as a freelance writer for publications including Bustle, MTV News, Shondaland, L’Officiel USA, Ladygunn, Flood and PopCrush before joining PEOPLE. In his current role, Jack covers daily music news and has interviewed both up-and-coming and established artists including Dolly Parton, Michelle Branch, Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Normani, Carly Rae Jepsen and Coco Jones. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 2, 2023 07:00PM EDT Close Matt Schultz from Cage the Elephant. Photo: Jacob Musselman/Shutterstock Matt Shultz of Cage the Elephant will not go to jail after pleading guilty to three charges of weapon possession after three loaded guns were found in his New York City hotel room in January, the New York Post reported on Friday. The 39-year-old musician accepted a plea deal in court, per the Post, telling Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Cori Weston he's guilty on all three charges: attempted criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon. According to the outlet, the judge said Shultz is required to attend all his court dates and "stay out of trouble for one year." Then, he'll reportedly be able to wipe his slate clean of the two felony counts and instead be sentenced to "one-year conditional release for a misdemeanor charge." However, breaking the deal could result in seven years in prison for Shultz, according to the newspaper. Cage the Elephant's Matt Schultz Arrested in New York, Charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon Matt Shultz of Cage the Elephant. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Shultz's lawyer Sanford Talkin tells PEOPLE in a statement, "Mr. Shultz has worked hard to put this isolated episode behind him and is appreciative of the opportunity to move forward in a positive manner." On Jan. 4, an employee at the Bowery Hotel on Manhattan's Lower East Side called the cops after they allegedly witnessed Shultz carrying a handgun into a public restroom on the ground floor, according to the Daily Mail. At the time, the New York Police Department told PEOPLE he was then arrested and taken to the 9th precinct station house. A judge granted police a search warrant to enter his room where cops say they found two loaded guns, a Sig Sauer and a Smith & Wesson, according to the Daily Mail. There were conflicting media reports at the time about whether or not Shultz possessed a firearm license for the guns. The Daily Mail reported that Shultz did not have one, while ET Canada claimed he did. However, the Post reported that Shultz's lawyer Sanford Talkin "told a judge in January the guns were legally purchased and registered, though not in New York." Rock band Cage the Elephant was formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Shultz previously worked at a sandwich bar and as a plumber before joining the band. The band found commercial and critical success as their sophomore album Thank You Happy Birthday debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and their 2015 studio album, Tell Me I'm Pretty, earned a Grammy award for best rock album. They also won another Grammy for best rock album for their 2019 album Social Cues.