Rapper Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug, Gun Charges
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Published · reached Usenet April 9, 2004
Rapper Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug, Gun Charges Sigel Faces Attempted Murder Charge
UPDATED: 10:35 PM EDT April 8, 2004
PHILADELPHIA -- Beanie Sigel, a Philadelphia rapper who was a protege of rap superstar Jay-Z, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal drug and weapons charges.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Sigel faces about three years in prison when he is sentenced on July 8, authorities said.
The charges stemmed from an April 2002 traffic stop when authorities said Sigel, whose birth name is Dwight Grant, ditched his Cadillac Escalade and a loaded handgun while fleeing from police. Investigators said they found a variety of drugs in the vehicle, including codeine, Oxycodone and marijuana.
Sigel, 30, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The rapper had a previous conviction on narcotics charges in 1995.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in a separate state charge of attempted murder.
Prosecutors said Sigel shot and seriously wounded a man outside a Philadelphia bar in July. He is also awaiting trial on charges that he fractured a 53-year-old man's eye socket.
During a seven-year music career, Sigel's records have sold more than 1 million copies