No Bail for Beanie
Beanie Sigel (a.k.a. Dwight Grant) will be unable to perform at any
further dates on the Roc the Mic Tour after a judge ordered the
troubled rapper to be held without bail until his trial on federal
weapons charges.
Sigel offered $50,000 and the homes of his mother and sister as
a guarantee against flight, but U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Faith
Angell cited his record, which includes eight arrests for crimes
ranging from assault to various drug infractions and, most
recently, attempted murder, for her decision to deny bail. She
specifically referred to his April 20th arrest for weapons
possession while on bail for a January assault. Sigel’s attorney,
Fortunato Perri, plans to appeal the decision.
Though Sigel’s legal tangles pre-date 2003, three arrests this
year led to his incarceration. He appeared in court last week and
had the January charge reduced from aggravated assault to simple
assault. But no sooner had Sigel knocked that felony charge down to
a misdemeanor than federal authorities arrested him, claiming that
his April 20th arrest (during which police retrieved a weapon
during a routine traffic stop) was a parole violation, prompting
new, federal charges. Sigel was also arrested two weeks ago and
charged with attempted murder for a July 1st shooting in west
Philadelphia. He denies all of the outstanding charges.
Without a reversal of Judge Angell’s decision, Sigel will be
held at a Federal Detention Center in Center City, Pennsylvania,
until further hearings regarding the case are scheduled.