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Beanie Sigel Exit Prison: Enter Rehab

Friday, 05 September 2003

| Written by Dave

Associated Press reports, jailed rapper Beanie Sigel can attend a residential treatment program for substance abuse and anger management while awaiting his federal drug and weapons trial, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick granted Sigel's request Thursday after the rapper, born Dwight Grant, agreed to post a $1 million bond, including $150,000 in cash, his $400,000 suburban Philadelphia home and four other properties. "I don't see how 28 days of treatment in the life of Beanie Sigel is enough to stamp out 29 years of being Dwight Grant," Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Douglas argued in court against Sigel's release.

Sigel hopes to go home after the four-week program to finish up work on a third solo album, "The B-Coming," which had been scheduled for release this month, as well as on film and cartoon projects.

Prosecutors called Sigel a flight risk and danger to the community.

Sigel's rap sheet includes nine arrests as an adult but just one conviction, for simple drug possession, and two juvenile assault convictions.

The federal charges stem from an April 20 traffic stop in which Sigel allegedly tossed a semiautomatic pistol from a black Cadillac Escalade.

He was caught with two large bottles of cough medicine, about 50 Xanax, Percocet and other pills, and a small bag of marijuana, Philadelphia police said.

Surrick plans to revisit Sigel's request for bail if he completes the program.

"He's going to receive treatment for drugs and alcohol as well as anger management, and I think that will help him to get a better handle on those issues," defense lawyer Fortunato N. Perri Jr. said.

But first the South Philadelphia native has a pretrial hearing in a pending attempted murder case in state court Friday.

Sigel is charged with the near-fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man outside a West Philadelphia strip club on July 1. At the time, he was free on bail for allegedly punching a man outside a Chinese restaurant in January, breaking his left eye socket.

Neither of those cases has been resolved.

Prosecutors called the pretrial release unusual except in cases in which mental health issues or severe drug addictions are evident.

Sigel, whose two solo albums have sold more than 1 million copies, missed a summer "Roc the Mic" tour with Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek and other Roc-A-Fella label stars when he was denied bond following his July 14 arrest on the federal charges.