January 10, 2006
Free at Last
Posted by steve at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
Beanie Baby?
Part two of rapper Beanie Sigel's big day ended with him being found in civil contempt for a failure to pay child support in a timely fashion.
This was the second time in nine weeks that Sigel had been found in contempt. The first time he owed more than $27,000 in back support for two children. When the judge sentenced him to a year in prison, Sigel came across with the cash—every last nickel—and his attorney promised he'd start making payments on time.
This time around Sigel was just $900 in arrears on one child, and having learned his lesson from the previous hugely embarrassing hearing, the rapper came up with a check for $1,100 before this proceeding even started.
That's right—he's got $200 credit now.
Just the same, Judge Leonard Ivanoski hit him with a $1,000 fine for civil contempt for failing to make his payments in a timely fashion, and added that no one "has to be a member of MENSA" to understand their support obligations.
But the real intrigue occurred before we prying reporters were admitted into the courtroom.
Both prosecutor Maria McLaughlin and defense attorney Walt McHugh made reference to earlier "motions," one of which seemed to revolve around the subject of paternity.
At one point McLaughin stated the rapper had numerous opportunities in the past to "dispute his support obligation."
After the hearing ended, Sigel quickly exited the room, refusing to answer any questions.
McLaughlin refused to confirm that the child's paternity was in dispute because "family court protects a child's privacy," though she did say the child was between 5 and 6 years old, and that to her knowledge Sigel spends "tons" of time with the child.
Maybe someday we'll understand the inner workings of Beanie's complicated lifestyle. But for now, know this: For the first time in about three years, Beanie Sigel has no open court cases.
For the first time in a long time, his future lies squarely in front of him. So ... will he live it up? Or fuck it up?
Posted by steve at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)
Yay! Court!
Posted by steve at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
Sigel Convicted! Ain't No Big Thing
Rapper Beanie Sigel faced simple assault charges today in the alleged January 2003 beatdown of Wendell Mathis.
In a suitably unusual proceeding, Sigel and his attorney Fred Perri stipulated to all the evidence that would've been presented—like, say, Mathis' broken eye socket. Judge Marsha Neifield then convicted him and sentenced him to two years probation.
So let's tally this up: That's two years probation with the commonwealth. Plus the two years probation he was already serving in a federal gun possession case.
Add those together and you get double-secret triple-skippy hip-hop probation! Or is it ... double-secret tiny-cell-phone big-Bentley probation!
Whatever. Sigel's day isn't over yet—and neither is ours. Next up: The big man is going to court at 1 p.m. in a civil contempt case for failure to pay child support.
Close followers of Mr. Sigel's travails may remember that just nine weeks ago he dealt with the same charge on a day that will live in infamy. Check out "Beanie! Say It Ain't So!" for all the ignoble details.
Posted by steve at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
Big Bentley
Posted by steve at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2005
Fog of War
Little news coming out so far today about the arrest of Kevin Green. But just a quick heads up for anyone following Beanie Sigel's story: Tomorrow's PW seeks to put events in context—and break some news besides.
Posted by steve at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
It's Official!
Police have arrested 22-year-old Kevin Green of Chew Avenue for the murder of Sam Derry.
They have also announced the murder is considered drug-related, but not Beanie Sigel-related.
Posted by steve at 05:39 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2005
Evidence!
It's been a bad week for Wallace Moody.
The 39-year-old North Philadelphia man was abducted early Wednesday morning, beaten severely (Moody Statement Obtained by PW) and then released by his captors last night.
Now he's in jail. How'd that happen?
Around 3:15 p.m. today Moody was driven up to his home in the 6700 block of N. Third St. in the company of three city detectives and a state parole officer.
In a bizarre little tableau, the badly bruised Moody tried for 15 minutes to help officers get into his house.
By all appearances, it seemed as if Moody's locks had been changed.
At any rate, Moody and city detectives eventually removed a window screen and sent a little girl scooting through the opening to unlock a door from the inside.
Maybe 20 minutes later a detective emerged bearing three bags of evidence. And about 20 minutes after that? Wallace Moody himself was escorted out in cuffs and taken into custody on an apparent parole violation from a previous drug charge.
Detectives on the scene declined to answer questions.
Police public affairs would only confirm Moody was arrested.
Police are still searching for a link between Moody's abduction and the slaying the night before of Beanie Sigel's stepfather Sam Derry.
Moody was a co-defendant of Derry's brother Kent in a 1999 drug dealing arrest.
A high-ranking police official suggested to PW that with Moody in custody officers will enjoy greater leverage in their discussions with him.
In Moody's statement to police last night he gave no indication there was any link between himself, Sam Derry or the rapper Beanie Sigel, whom he said he knew "just from his music."
Posted by steve at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
Whisked Away!
Posted by steve at 08:55 PM | Comments (1)
Abduction victim Wallace Moody was arrested yesterday on a parole violation stemming from a past drug charge.
Posted by steve at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
Better Days
Sam Derry (left) and wife Michelle (right) sharing a peaceful moment last year.
Posted by steve at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)
Wallace Moody Statement Obtained by PW
(Moody emerged from NW Detectives last night around 1:30 a.m.)
Wallace Moody turned up at Einstein Medical Center late last night, and PW obtained a copy of the statement he gave police.
According to the interview record, Moody says he left for work at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning when a pair of vehicles boxed his Taurus in.
Two men emerged from the car that drove right up to his bumper. Two more men emerged from a truck behind his car.
They hollered, “Police! Police! Don’t move!” The four men wore bandannas over their faces and put a black thermal hood over Moody’s head.
They drove and made him get out and enter what he believed to be the basement of a house. He could hear a garage door open from time to time while he was there.
“The whole time I was there they just beat on me,” reads Moody’s statement. “They burned me and put a drill through my sneaker.”
The men told Moody they heard he was dealing drugs again and kept asking for money and narcotics. “I told them I wasn’t in the game anymore,” said Moody. “They kept telling me that I better make some calls.”
Moody swore to the men that he’d gone legit, working steadily since 2003.
He told investigators his captors burned him with a torch, pistol-whipped him and beat him with a shovel.
He also said he called his wife, but they didn’t have money or anything to give them.
The men then took Moody back to the truck and drove around for a while. “They kicked me loose and told me it was my lucky day,” Moody told police.
Moody said he was released somewhere near Central High School at 1700 W. Olney. He then walked to Einstein Medical Center for treatment.
His statement supplies almost no information about the vehicles used in his abduction and even less about the men involved. He told police his abductors referred to each other as “cousin” the entire time he was there.
Moody was asked how he recognized the individual items he was tortured with, but never saw any of the males. “They had all kind of stuff in my mouth and over my face,” Moody told investigators.
He said he knew of Sam Derry through his brother Kent Derry, with whom he was arrested on a drug case in 1999.
He also said he knew Beanie Sigel “just from the radio.”
When Moody left Northwest Detectives last night, his hands were bandaged and his left eye was black.
Posted by steve at 03:01 AM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2005
Found!
Philadelphia Weekly learned that Wallace Moody turned up tonight at Einstein Hospital, in the 5600 block of North Broad Street.
Moody has burns on both hands and a bruised left eye.
Investigators believe Moody's abduction is related to the murder of Beanie Sigel's stepfather Sam Derry.
Posted by steve at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Condolences From Jay-Z
This statement was released earlier this afternoon.
"We are shocked and saddened by this horrible tragedy. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with Dwight Grant (Beanie Sigel), his mother Michelle Brown-Derry and their wonderful family. We ask that the public, and especially the media, respect the privacy of the family during this time of mourning."
—Shawn Carter, Antonio Reid, Steve Bartels and the entire Island Def Jam Music Group family
Posted by steve at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)
The Police Speak
(Homicide inspector Jim Boyle addressed the media with the facts Philly cops can share right now.)
A more detailed picture of the day's events emerged from this afternoon's press conference: Sam Derry's car was discovered today in the 1200 block of Sydney Street, approximately a half-mile from where his body was discovered in the 8100 block of Forrest Avenue on Tuesday morning.
Police believe he was killed elsewhere, by gunshot, and his body moved to the alleyway where it was discovered. Boyle refused to speculate on why the killer(s) set Derry's body on fire.
After the press conference, Boyle said Sigel's family last saw Derry on the night of his murder. He declined to give a specific time.
Northwest Detectives Capt. Mark Everitt spoke next, telling reporters Wallace Moody was abducted off the street in front of his home shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
He said two African-American males drove up in dark-colored vehicles, emerged with guns and spirited Moody away in one of their cars.
Police are of course interested in any information anyone can provide on Moody's whereabouts.
All was quiet at Sam Derry's home in the 2200 block of Mifflin Street.
Mourners went in and out, carrying trays of food and boxes of soda. There was no sign of Sigel himself, and people standing on the porch there seemed relieved when the media packed it in and went home.
Posted by steve at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)
Abducted ...
(Wallace Moody—above—was abducted from in front of his home in the 6700 block of North Third Street last night.)
Investigators are looking for connections between Moody's abduction and the previous night's murder of Beanie Sigel's 46-year-old stepfather Sam Derry.
The police held a news conference on the two topics this afternoon, where newshounds asked if Derry had been cellmates with Moody, or if the 39-year-old abductee had some relationship with Derry's brother.
Police said they are "investigating."
PW had earlier reported that court documents do show Moody was arrested with a Kent Derry, whom investigators believe to be Sam Derry's brother.
The pair was arrested in November 1999 on charges of dealing cocaine. They pleaded guilty and each received four-to-eight-year prison terms.
Sam Derry faced several arrests in his lifetime and received an acquittal on murder charges in the late '80s. He was convicted of robbery in 1991 and served nine years in prison.
He was shot to death and found burning in an alleyway after 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Moody was abducted before 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
Posted by steve at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)
Abduction Linked to Slaying of Rapper’s Stepfather?
Police are investigating the abduction of Wallace Moody, an Oak Lane man, in connection with the murder of rapper Beanie Sigel’s stepfather Sam Derry.
According to a witness, Moody was abducted last night by three African-American men in gray hooded sweatshirts who pointed guns at him and threw him into a vehicle.
Though the Inquirer has reported that Moody had spent time in prison with 46-year-old Sam Derry, PW’s information is that Moody was co-defendant in a drug conspiracy case with Derry’s brother Kent.
According to court records, both Moody and Kent Derry pleaded guilty and accepted four-to-eight-year prison terms in 1999 in a coke-dealing conspiracy.
Police suspect the details surrounding Derry’s murder suggest an intent to “send a message.” Derry was shot to death before being arranged on a makeshift pyre and set aflame in the 8100 block of Forrest Avenue on Monday night.
Posted by steve at 01:05 PM | Comments (0)
Cause of Death Confirmed
Police officials this morning confirmed Sam Derry was killed with two gunshots to the torso before he was set on fire.
Posted by steve at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2005
The Scene of the Crime
(Above: Philadelphia police left behind gloves and the sheet they'd covered Derry's body with.)
Sam Derry was a short, friendly man who favored colorful shirts—walking courthouse hallways in button-down jerseys fit for a backyard barbecue.
During Sigel's first attempted murder trial, Derry showed up every day. "Don't you ever let me catch you looking at some other man," he cooed at Sigel's then-three-month-old daughter during an April 2004 court proceeding. "If I ever catch you cheatin' on me, you're gonna pack your bags and get out."
In the same manner that Sigel's mother showed up to support her son, Derry seemed to show up to support her.
Once, after testifying on her son's behalf at a federal sentencing hearing, Michelle Brown-Derry looked pained and wiped out. "Man," she said of her son. "If he even think about having a negative thought—"
"Hey," Derry interrupted her. "You just look in his eyes, you can see—he knows he's been blessed."
The 46-year-old Derry's seeming gregariousness makes the horror of how he was killed all the worse: shot to death, driven to an alley in the 8100 block of Forrest Avenue in the Cedarbrook section of Philadelphia, and set aflame.
Whoever killed Derry took their time setting up the scene where his body was ultimately found.
They used fallen tree limbs, including a small uprooted tree, to make a funeral pyre on which to set his body. The entire tableau smacks of a gangland killing. As one law enforcement official told PW earlier today, “This is a message murder. This is the kind of murder the mafia does, where they shoot you in the face as a sign of disrespect. So your mother can’t have an open casket.”
Or as another woman who stood outside this evening looking over the charred remains of the pyre put it, "This is cold. This is some Jamaican shit."
Posted by steve at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)
The Pyre
Whoever dumped Sam Derry's body built a pyre out of fallen tree limbs before setting his remains on fire.
Posted by steve at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)
Nice Neighborhood ...
The 8100 block of Forrest Avenue is one of the last places in Philadelphia anyone would expect to find a body dumped on their street.
"You aren't kidding," said Eddie Brown, who's lived on the block since 1972. "It's usually quiet here, but I saw everybody here this morning."
Brown was shocked as anyone else when the body of Sam Derry, Beanie Sigel's stepfather, was found burning in an alleyway between Forrest and Williams avenues.
The neighborhood was also shocked when police left behind so much debris from the scene. As of 8 p.m. tonight, the gloves and scrubs worn by crime scene investigators were still lying in a pile in the alley, as was change residents believe must have fallen from Derry's pocket.
While some (including PW) have reported that Derry was nude except for the gold chain he wore, some residents who saw the body in the early morning hours say he appeared to be wearing shorts.
A witness from the neighborhood was up late Monday night watching television, when a van pulled up in the alley outside. The witness saw two men drag a body out into the alley and set it on fire.
"We never have anything like this happen around here," said resident Lydia Alston. "You might hear gunfire, maybe twice, in the summer. But this is a quiet place to live."
Posted by steve at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
Beanie's Stepfather Found Dead
Law enforcement is waiting for a positive identification of the body found burning in Mt. Airy this morning. But a source close to Beanie Sigel’s family says the body is that of Sam Derry, Sigel’s stepfather.
Sigel’s mother, Michelle Brown-Derry, married him last year.
The apparent murder of Derry was particularly gruesome: Two men drove up in a van along the 8100 block of Forrest Avenue, offloaded the body and set it ablaze in a nearby alleyway. The body was naked except for some jewelry still attached to the man’s neck, suggesting the motive wasn’t robbery.
Again, police can’t confirm all the details yet as they wait for the medical examiner’s findings, but Derry was apparently dead before he was set on fire—probably the victim of a single gunshot wound to the head.
“This is a message murder,” said one law enforcement source. “This is the kind of murder the mafia does, where they shoot you in the face as a sign of disrespect. So your mother can’t have an open casket.”
Posted by steve at 05:21 PM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2005
Happy Beanie!
Posted by steve at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)
Beanie's Favorite Beanie Blog Post!
In court today Sigel also mentioned that he particularly enjoyed the post below called "The Escalade."
"I like the way it went through all the different scenarios," he said of the post, which dealt with the various colors witnesses ascribe to his Escalade. "I liked the different explanations. 'Maybe Beanie has three Escalades!' I was laughing."
Sigel again seemed in good spirits. He's a free man today, and getting closer to staying that way.
Posted by steve at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)
Trial Date Set
Beanie Sigel's next trial, on charges of simple assault, is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2006.
Sigel showed up for court today wearing a Chicago White Sox ball cap, a gray Rocawear jersey with black and red stripes, and Roc jeans.
"I've just been relaxing for a minute," he said of the week since he received a not guilty verdict on charges of attempted murder. He leaned back on the court bench with a big satisfied smile and said he'd been playing video games with his kids and relaxing.
Though there was some talk that he'd rerelease his latest disc The B.Coming with some extra tracks, he's since decided his next offering will be all new material.
Sigel waited in court for close to an hour today before Judge Bradley Moss took the bench and set the date. Defense attorney Fred Perri came over to pass the time.
Turns out Perri just watched Sigel's profanity-filled movie State Property II over the weekend. "I couldn't watch it before the trial," said Perri. "I would've thrown up if I'd seen it last week."
The movie is filled with material that could be seen as prejudicial for a jury—with Sigel's autobiographically named character Beans engaging in some big-time gangsta doings, from dealing drugs to firing semiautomatic weapons to rolling around town in his infamous Escalade.
"I brought my daughters in to see the parts I was in," says Perri. "With the volume down."
"Did your wife watch it?" asked Sigel.
"Yeah," said Perri. "We fast-forwarded through some of it, but yeah."
Posted by steve at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2005
What Next?
Posted by steve at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
Trial Date Pushed Back
Beanie Sigel is gonna appear in court on Monday, but attorney Fred Perri says the proceeding will be only a status listing, which means the attorneys, defendant and judge all show up and check their calendars for a good date to hold the trial.
Look for more coverage then!
Posted by steve at 05:59 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2005
Back to Court!
Come Monday Sigel will find out when he goes on trial for simple assault.
Posted by steve at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
How Badly Do They Want Him?
When Beanie Sigel goes to trial on simple assault charges, rest assured this will be no normal misdemeanor case.
Misdemeanor trials are usually handled by inexperienced assistant district attorneys.
This case will be prosecuted by Brendan O'Malley, an ADA who usually handles felonies.
Sigel could face a year or more in prison if convicted of busting 53-year-old Wendell Mathis' eye socket after a January 2003 argument.
Combine that with the year he just spent in federal jail on a gun possession case, and Sigel will have spent far too much time paying for being Beanie Sigel rather than getting paid for it.
Posted by steve at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)
The Escalade
Beanie Sigel's Cadillac Escalade plays a prominent role in a couple of his court cases. But no one seems to agree on its color.
It is variously described as alpine green, black and burgundy.
There are many possible reasons for this.
a) Sigel's accusers have never actually seen his vehicle.
b) They simply got the color wrong. (Hey, who can be sure of such a small detail when they're either lying in the street bleeding or nursing a newly broken eye socket?)
c) Beanie Sigel has three Escalades.
The above picture shows the Escalade Sigel rolled to court in for his attempted murder trial. We say it's black.
Posted by steve at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)
Not Done Yet
Beanie Sigel's legal woes aren't over.
The rapper could face a year or more in prison if found guilty in a simple assault trial set to take place this Monday.
Here's a rundown on the January 2003 incident.
According to court documents, a then-53-year-old man named Wendell Mathis stood outside a Chinese food store in the 1800 block of Wingohocking Avenue chatting up a young lady.
A burgundy Cadillac Escalade rolled slowly in front of them and Beanie Sigel poked his head out the window.
"What's up, ho?" he said.
"Why do you have to disrespect her?" Mathis replied.
At this, the car stopped and Sigel emerged, poking his nose into Mathis' personal space.
"Do you know who I am?" asked the rapper.
"Yeah," Mathis replied. "Beanie Sigel."
According to the complaint, Sigel stared Mathis down for a moment before turning as if to leave. Then he allegedly sucker-punched the man—tagging him twice, on either eye, before his victim could fall down.
"Yeah," Sigel said, standing over him. "Beanie Sigel. That's right. Beanie Sigel."
Sigel rode away to continue his hip-hop life.
Mathis found himself lying in the street with a broken left orbital bone. That's a busted eye socket to you and me.
Posted by steve at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2005
Not Guilty!
Posted by steve at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)
"Do You Have a Verdict?"
The end, when it comes, seems swift and soft.
Only a single gasp, a muffled sob, escapes from Sigel's side of the courtroom when the jury's forewoman announces they have found the rapper "Not guilty" of attempted murder.
In all the jury finds Sigel not guilty on every charge the commonwealth brought—including aggravated assault and a firearms violation.
Michelle Brown-Derry collapses against a cousin and cries, her face quickly streaked with rivulets of tears.
Sigel's fiance, who sits behind her, throws her arms around Brown-Derry's shoulders.
Sigel's brother Duan allows himself only a subtle, satisfied smile.
Perri and Sigel hug.
The applause starts when Sigel steps out into the hallway, away from the sheriff's deputies.
Damon Dash throws both arms around the rapper, who could wind up acting as a cornerstone for his new Damon Dash Music Group. Then the procession travels slowly from courtroom 305 to the elevators, with Sigel receiving between 30 and 40 hugs and handshakes along the way.
By the time they arrived outside, the sidewalk outside the Criminal Justice Center was filled with media.
"I'm glad the jury did what was right," Sigel told them. "I'm glad justice was done."
Did he feel like he dodged a bullet?
"I feel like I got hit with a bullet when the charge came," said Sigel. "Now I feel like I can have my life back. I can get back to business, back to my family. Family first."
Then Perri spoke, telling the media the entire attempted murder charge had been the result of a money grab by the victim, who also filed a civil suit against Sigel—a suit that's still pending. "We've always maintained he's not guilty," said Perri. "We've maintained that all along."
And on they went with Sigel leading his entourage forward only to stop a second time by the Marriott, this time with Damon Dash standing alongside his rapper.
"He's an honorable man," Dash said of Sigel. "That's what we've been saying all along. He's a businessman. His State Property clothing line does $20 million a year. His last disc The B.Coming moved 500,000 units when he wasn't even around to promote it. I can't imagine what he can sell now that he's here."
What did it mean to Sigel to have Dash there every day?
"It's the same as having my brother here," the rapper said. "The same as having my family. It's not anything special. It's how it should be. He's here for me the same way I'd be here for him if he was going through something like this."
A 20-to-40-year jail sentence had been averted.
The sky had cracked open.
Beanie Sigel was free of the greatest legal threat he'd ever faced.
So on they went, inside the Marriott, where a television crew cornered the rapper for one last interview as he waited to check into a room—a victory suite—with his fiancee.
"All the attention on me the last few years," said Sigel, "people have finally gotten to see me. People see the movies and hear the music and they think that's me. I guess I'm good at what I do. But that's not me. That's entertainment—a character."
These are lines it seems unlikely he'll utter again if questioned by The Source, XXL or any of hip-hop's bibles.
But they're also lines a jury of 12 had just endorsed.
The commonwealth failed to prove its case.
Dwight Grant, the man also known as Beanie Sigel, the gangsta rapper, was not guilty.
So what will Dwight Grant/Beanie Sigel do now?
Will there be a party?
"No," he said quietly, shortly before throwing his arm around his fiancee and heading upstairs. "There's not gonna be any party."
Posted by steve at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)
Judgment Day
Posted by steve at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)
The Boys in Blue
"Verdict," mouthed Fred Perri at 12:30 p.m., and at that point everyone involved put on their game faces.
Sigel sat placidly in the front row.
The rapper's brother Duan looked just as calm.
Sigel's mother Michelle Brown-Derry sat next to Duan, her face hardened with fear.
Behind her sat Melissa Butts, who reached one hand over the bench to touch Sigel's mom on the shoulder.
It's no coincidence that the rows of seats in a courtroom look so much like the pews of a Catholic church.
Then four sheriff's deputies entered the room, jarheads in blue uniforms whose presence often presages a guilty verdict.
"Oh," Sigel's mother said when she saw them.
A moment later Perri was up. "Whatever the verdict is," he told the spectators on his client's side of the courtroom, "I want no reaction. None."
The deputies arrayed themselves around the courtroom. They could be here merely to maintain order over the large crowd, more than 50 strong.
They could be here to take Beanie Sigel away.
Posted by steve at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)
Sharp Dressed Man
Posted by steve at 02:29 PM | Comments (0)
Buy Pro-Keds!
"That's not an outfit," said Damon Dash, pointing to a man in the courthouse hallway.
Dash stood resplendent as usual in a custom-tailored suit that hung off his burly shoulders with the precision of a department-store mannequin.
The man he addressed wore jeans and a baggy white T-shirt with white sneakers, which seemed to draw most of Dash's attention.
"Those," he said, pointing to the man's shoes, "could easily be Pro-Keds."
Dash, who runs the Pro-Keds shoe line, never misses an opportunity to promote.
A friend of Sigel's, the man had attended the trial every day but smiled and said nothing as Dash spoke.
"What size do you wear?" continued Dash.
At this, the man raised his eyebrows. "Ten and a half," he said.
"I'll take care of that," said Dash. "I'll take care of that personally."
Now the man smiled more broadly, giving Dash an address on South Philadelphia's Sigel Street, the street from which Sigel hails and takes his name.
"I'll take care of it," said Dash. "Watch."
Posted by steve at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
Through a Glass, Darkly
As spectators awaited a verdict, the jury's thoughts seemed hard to read.
Posted by steve at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)
Jury Questions
Once deliberations begin, attorneys stick close by in case the jury asks any questions.
Hallway scuttlebutt come Monday morning indicated the Sigel jury had two questions, neither of which seemed good for the defense. But reading a jury's thoughts through the questions they ask is notoriously difficult.
Sigel himself knows that. As he told Damon Dash in the courtroom hallway, "That could be one guy asking those questions. That don't mean anything."
Posted by steve at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2005
And Now We Wait ...
Beanie Sigel heads home for the weekend with no verdict.
Posted by steve at 06:00 PM | Comments (0)
Killing Time
The jury left for the weekend at 4 p.m. after deliberating for two hours without a verdict.
For Sigel's supporters, it was a "been there, done that" kind of moment.
The last time this case went to trial, in April 2004, jurors deliberated for five days before the judge finally declared a mistrial. While most obesevers see a not-guilty verdict coming this time around, some of his family members looked tense.
Before the jury departed for the weekend, his fiancee Melissa Butts smiled through an obvious case of nerves. His mother Michelle Brown-Derry looked sickened by the weight of her worries from the moment the jury left the courtroom to begin its deliberations.
"You all right?" Sigel asked her at one point.
Brown-Derry sat two rows back from her son, her head lolling forward as if she were sleeping.
"She ain't asleep," said Sigel. "Mom, you all right?"
"I'm fine," she said looking up at him.
"You worried?" he asked, smiling.
"Yeah," she said.
In her mind, it's fine for spectators to see the case and figure a not-guilty verdict is on the way. But the only opinion that counts now is that of the jury—and they haven't spoken.
Through it all, Sigel remained phenomenally composed and cool. He came back from lunch, walked into the courtroom to wait and delivered a spot-on, playful imitation of Curtis Douglas, the man who prosecuted him on federal gun charges a little more than a year ago.
"The government's position," he said, his voice going raspy like Douglas', "the government's position is that the defendant has already had a bite at the apple. And if we keep letting him bite the apple, there isn't going to be any apple left, your honor."
Every so often he'd imitate the court crier's call of "all rise," drawing laughs from the friends and family who were there to support him.
At one point Sigel's attorney Fred Perri called him over to talk to a police crime scene investigator. The officer had earlier drawn inadvertant laughs during one recess when his cell phone rang by playing a snippet of Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind."
"Listen to this," Perri said to Sigel.
"Your honor," the officer said to Sigel, "the jury has a question. They would like to ask Mr. Sigel how to rock the mike right."
The moment seemed awkward in the extreme, but Sigel didn't skip a beat, letting out a long, loud laugh.
The afternoon wore on like this, awash in wit and worry, then it was announced that the jury had left—the waiting to begin anew come Monday.
Since being released from prison on the federal gun charge, Sigel has taken his sons each Saturday to go play videogames.
This weekend won't be any different.
"See you Monday," Sigel said as he left. "See you Monday."
Posted by steve at 05:07 PM | Comments (0)
The Jury Deliberates
Posted by steve at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)
One Lone Juror?
Defense and prosecution attorneys around the Criminal Justice Center always say the same thing: "You never know what a jury's going to do."
There are some well-worn myths: If the jury looks at the defendant, he's going home. If the jury averts its eyes, the defendant's going to jail.
As defense attorney Fred Perri announced he would rest his case without calling a single witness, juror No. 7 raised his eyebrows, then wrinkled them like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He threw back his shoulders. He let out a big breath.
Was he reacting to Perri or some private thought?
The entire case seemeed to go the defense's way, and most courtroom observers seemed relatively sure Sigel was heading toward a not-guilty verdict.
But could one man or woman hang the entire jury so this case just doesn't go away?
These are the kinds of questions people in courtroom 305 wrestled with as the 12 jurors—10 African-American, two white; seven women, five men—started their deliberations.
Posted by steve at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)
The Closing Argument
DEFENSE ATTORNEY FRED PERRI
Key quote: "What you saw here yesterday was an entire case unravel right in front of your eyes."
Theatrical high point (delivered in a high-pitched tone with a really red face): "David Aimes! I almost sat down. I almost didn't ask him another question. If I came over here and sat down yesterday, there'd be no tomorrows for [Beanie Sigel]. But Aimes came clean ... He told you. He didn't really see the shooting."
PROSECUTOR LYNN NICHOLS
Key quote: "This is not just a crime of violence. This was a crime of arrogance. The defendant's arrogance. Because he believed no one would testify against him."
Theatrical high point (delivered in a whisper): "Let me tell you about fear. You see a shooting and you think to yourself, 'He was angry enough to shoot me because I disrespected someone he knew. What will he do to me if I talk to the police? What will he do to me if I come to court? Will he come back and shoot me?' That fear is real. And that fear is what you saw in David Aimes."
Posted by steve at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
And Now for Some Theater
Whenever a big case takes place at the Criminal Justice Center, supporters for the defense and the prosecution line up on either side of the courtroom like Bloods and Crips.
Beanie Sigel = Big Case.
As closing arguments began today, the courtroom filled with blue-uniformed police, miniskirted chicks from the district attorney's office—including one real hottie—and a bunch of detectives.
Federal prosecutor Curtis Douglas, who took Sigel's guilty plea in a separate gun possession case, also attended.
(Feds + Beanie Sigel = lots of PW stories.)
As attorneys readied their closings, the crowd in courtroom 305 swelled to more than 50 people.
And unlike with the Bloods and the Crips, no one was hurt.
Posted by steve at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)
Ballistics = Boring
Day three of the trial included testimony from another city detective, who talked about how he searched for—and couldn't find—other witnesses.
But the witness who took up most of the morning was a police firearms expert, who proceeded—as police firearms experts do—to relentlessly bore everyone within a 50-foot radius.
One neat CSI fact: The position of a semiautomatic handgun when fired will determine the "ejection pattern" of spent shell casings.
The meaning: A gun held straight up and down will kick shell casings out to the side. But a gun held sideways—i.e., gangsta style—will most likely eject the casings backward, so they wind up behind said gangsta. While this tidbit had no bearing on the evidence in the Beanie Sigel case, it still feels kinda cool to know.
Posted by steve at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2005
Freedom Bound?
Under cross-examination, eyewitness David Aimes started off strong.
"In your original statement to police, you said you were in the Chinese store when you heard five or six shots," said Fred Perri. "That's what happened, isn't it?"
"No," replied Aimes.
That was a surprise. After delivering odd, shaky testimony that morning, Aimes looked like easy pickings for defense attorney Fred Perri but instead he came out sticking to his story. So Perri spent 15 minutes or so wrestling with Aimes.
He pointed out his criminal record.
He illuminated discrepancies in his testimony.
Then he circled back around for another try at a knockout. "You didn't really see this shooting, did you?" asked Perri.
"Not really," replied Aimes.
"You were going off what other people told you."
"Little bit," said Aimes.
Then Perri even found Aimes a motive for lying. "You said earlier that no one does for you," he said. "You do for you and your son, right?"
"Yes."
"So you thought someone might take care of you?"
"Yes."
Things got worse when prosecutor Lynn Nichols tried to redirect.
"When you came out of the Chinese store, you saw the defendant with a gun?"
"I can't say I did," replied Aimes.
"Do you recall saying earlier today that you saw him with a gun?"
"No."
Wow!
David Aimes = no longer an eyewitness.
Beanie Sigel = free man?
Posted by steve at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
The Fog of War
Posted by steve at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
"I Don't Want to Be Here"
The prosecution's second eyewitness slouched into the courtroom, sat down heavily in the witness stand and began rubbing his face and head as if he were trying to wipe himself right off the face of the earth.
Then he proceeded to run as far south of his previous testimony as he could without actually crossing the border.
In April '04 Aimes told jurors he saw Sigel emerge from his Escalade carrying a handgun, level it at his friend Terrence Speller, and start firing.
Now he doesn't recall.
Moreover, he doesn't want to be involved.
Prosecutor Lynn Nichols tried gamely to put him back on track. And there were moments that caught the jury's attention.
"Your honor," said Aimes. "I don't want to be here."
"Why don't you want to be here?" asked Nichols.
"Because I got to think about my own life," replied Aimes.
Like the victim Terrence Speller, Aimes started off by telling police he didn't know who did the shooting. But the next day he identified Sigel. He came to court for the first trial and identified Sigel again. But this time he tried to resist.
Some of his pauses extended for 15 or 20 seconds before he finally offered an answer.
"Who did you identify?" asked Nichols.
Aimes responded by keeping his head down, as if he were ashamed or didn't want to be seen. He rubbed his head and face. Ten seconds passed. Fifteen. "The defendant," he said finally.
"The defendant, indicating Dwight Grant?" asked Nichols.
Again, the rubbing. Again, the averted eyes. And finally, 12 seconds later, "Yes."
Every time Nichols tried to get him to elaborate on his one-word answers he'd say, "I don't recall," like he was testifying before a Senate subcommittee.
Nichols would then read him his previous testimony, in which he claimed to clearly see Sigel advance on Speller, fire his gun and retreat. "Didn't you give that tesimony?"
"I don't recall," Aimes said. "But if it says so there, I guess I did."
The real whistle-through-your-teeth moment came when Aimes said he identified Sigel to detectives the next day only because he "caught a glimpse" of the reports the police were carrying, and also a photograph of Sigel.
That stunner got both Sigel and defense attorney Fred Perri nodding their heads at the jury like a pair of bobblehead dolls. "See," they seemed to be saying. "This is some kind of setup." But not so fast.
"When I saw that, I figured Terrence had already told them what happened," Aimes testified today.
His suggestion, as weakly as he could make it, seemed to imply that Speller had told the police what happened, and what happened was that Beanie Sigel had shot him. Still, Aimes' downright weird and tortured testimony will no doubt offer Fred Perri lots of room to work when he cross-examines him, which will happen after lunch.
Posted by steve at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)
Last Year's News
Last time around Sigel sported an even more pronounced gangsta look.
Posted by steve at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)
The Detective
From a statement Det. Mary Kuchinsky took from David Aimes, alleged eyewitness to the Terrence Speller shooting: "It appeared to the assigned [detective] that the witness was afraid to divulge information on the offender [shooter]. It appeared the witness knew who the offender is but he refused to cooperate, fearing for his life."
Posted by steve at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
Recess!
During a short break in the proceedings, Damon Dash took the opportunity to bust the rapper Freeway's balls.
"Hey, man," he said. "You just got to tell Jay. Just tell him: You wanna come to DDMG."
Freeway laughed and looked sheepish. During the recent bust-up between Dash and Jay-Z, Freeway followed Jay. Dash formed his own music label. But in the months since, Freeway's second disc has been long delayed.
"You wanna sell records, don't you?" asked Dash. "You got to feed your family, right?"
"Yeah," Freeway nodded, blushing behind his long beard.
"Then just tell Jay. Just go on and talk to him."
Each time Dash reached this point, the crowd in the courthouse hallway laughed, but how much of this was for fun and how much was really an attempt to woo Freeway over to the Damon Dash Music Group is anyone's guess.
Posted by steve at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
What Is a Snitch?
Prosecutor Lynn Nichols: What's a snitch?
David Aimes: A guy who tells a lot.
Nichols: And in your community, what happens to a snitch?
Defense attorney Fred Perri: Objection!
Judge Karen Shreeves-Johns: Overruled.
Perri: Judge—objection!
Aimes: I don't know what happens.
Posted by steve at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2005
The Man in Black
Posted by steve at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)
Day Two: Questions Left Hanging
Will Jay-Z show?
What about Kanye West?
Will anyone ever agree if the Escalade Beanie Sigel rode in that night was black or green?
Posted by steve at 05:31 PM | Comments (0)
"I Don't Do Fat Chicks"
Kimberly Daniels entered in tight jeans, with her hair dyed blond, and didn't seem to notice the few low whistles of men exhaling through their teeth as her oversized derriere floated, dirgible-like, through the courtroom.
Daniels, it turns out, worked inside the Pony Tail Lounge. She saw Speller both inside and outside the bar that night, in the crush of people who greeted Beanie Sigel when he rolled up in his Escalade.
"You saw Terrence Speller having an argument with a girl, a dancer called China Doll?" asked Perri.
"Yes."
"What specifically did you hear him say to her?"
"He said, 'Bitch, me and my mens gonna be fucking you tonight.'"
Wow! Of course that has nothing to do with Sigel's guilt or innocence, but it sure turns Speller into a defendant.
What Daniels really gave us all was insight into the rap music business.
"I tried to talk to him," she said of Beanie Sigel. "I said, 'Can I be in one of your videos?"
And what did Sigel say?
"He said, 'I don't do fat chicks.'"
Posted by steve at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)
Jigga!
Rumors circulated that rapper Jay-Z will attend the trial's second day.
Posted by steve at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)
"Your Last Dying Breath ... "
The trial's biggest moment came when Perri confronted Speller with his greatest inconsistency.
After Speller was shot, as he lay in the street bleeding, an officer asked who shot him. "They tried to rob me," he replied.
He made no mention of Sigel to anyone until the following day.
"When you were lying there, after you'd been shot, you thought you were about to die, right?" asked Perri.
"I didn't know what was gonna happen," replied Speller.
Striding back to the defense table, Perri pulled out Speller's previous testimony. "Question," he reads aloud. "'What did you think when you were shot?' Answer: 'I thought I was about to die.'"
"Yes," said Speller, indicating that was his testimony.
"So with your last dying breath, instead of identifying your killer, you decide to tell a lie and say, 'They tried to rob me'?"
"Yes," said Speller.
Posted by steve at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)
The Big Witness!
Terrence Speller looked better this time around.
He wore jeans and a striped shirt last time—not exactly formalwear. But this time he sported a suit, a tie and a distinguishing Muslim beard.
Problem was: He was still Terrence Speller. And Fred Perri turned him into the defendant.
"You were adjudicated in a robbery at 17?" asked Perri.
"Yes," said Speller.
"That night, the night you were shot, before you went to the go-go bar, you had been at your friend's house, right? David Aimes?"
"Yeah."
"And you guys smoked some weed and had some drinks, right?"
"Yes."
"And then you were inside a go-go bar, right?"
"Yes," replied Speller.
"And you were trying to grope or feel up a dancer in there, and she didn't want that, right?"
"Yes," said Speller.
"So you argued?"
"Yes."
"And then you left there and got into an argument with someone inside Mr. Grant's car, right?"
"Yeah," said Speller.
"And then you left and you got into an argument with a girl on the way back to David Aimes' place?"
By this time some of the jurors are looking at Speller with raised eyebrows: Was there, in fact, anyone he didn't get into an argument with that night? Why, yes, in fact there was.
"But what about when you talked to my client? When you saw him outside the bar, you spoke and everything was cool, right?"
"Yes," said Speller.
"Until, you say, he pulled up in his car and shot you?"
"Yes."
Speller was, needless to say, outmatched.
Posted by steve at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)
Handsome Devil
Fred Perri Jr. does particularly well with female jurors.
Posted by steve at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
The Claim
The prosecution's story is pretty simple.
Terrence Speller hangs out for a while at the Pony Tail Lounge, a West Philly bar. He smokes a little weed that night. He drinks some pitchers of rum, vodka and juice. He leaves the bar and catches sight of the man himself, Beanie Sigel, who rolls up to the corner with Chris and 'Neef of the Young Gunz in a green Cadillac Escalade.
Sigel emerges. They kinda know each other, so they exchange Muslim greetings.
"Asalaamu alekum." Peace be upon you.
"Wa alekum salaam." And upon you peace.
Sigel departs. So does Speller.
Traveling south on 52nd Street, Speller runs into a girl named Janeera, who overhears him calling a dancer from the go-go bar a bitch.
Janeera assumes Speller must be talking about her, and the two start arguing. She threatens to call Sigel on her cell phone to get him to handle the situation. Speller starts walking.
Moments later, Janeera's mother arrives. Speller says she's a squeeze of Sigel's. She asks him, "What's going on with you and my daughter?"
By now Speller has reached the corner of 52nd and Larchwood. And here comes that Escalade. Again, Sigel emerges.
"Who?" says Sigel. "Which one?"
The next thing he knows the rapper is coming toward him with a gun, and starts firing—six, seven shots.
Two strike Speller. One in the gut. Another in the left heel.
Posted by steve at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
"I'm out of Order!?"
When Fred Perri delivered his opening remarks, he made the most of the prosecutor's shortcomings.
Where Nichols stayed 12 to 15 feet from the jury box, Perri strolled casually within arm's reach and leaned against the bar of the court, talking in such easy, conversational tones it seemed he might at any moment turn and ask Judge Karen Shreeves-Johns to mix him a quick martini.
Within a minute he had four jurors openly smiling at him as he spoke. Even more important, he started building the case that could get his client a full acquittal.
"They have the burden of proof," he said, pointing at the prosecutor's table. "And when I say that, I don't mean her. I don't mean the district attorney's office. I mean his accusers. Terrence Speller and David Aimes. His accusers have the burden of proof."
It's not a new trick. Every defense attorney tries to put the prosecution's witnesses on trial. But Perri sells a sense of moral outrage juries can't help but buy. "My client!" he thundered. "An innocent man! Is on trial for his life!"
All together now—remember that bit with Pacino from And Justice for All? "I'm out of order!? You're out of order! This whole court's out of order!"
Posted by steve at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
Quick-Change Artist
Hip-hop business mogul Damon Dash finishes dressing outside the Criminal Justice Center.
Posted by steve at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
Talk Like a Robot
The first time this case went to trial, prosecutor Deborah Robinson simply seemed overmatched. Her slow, monotone delivery of every statement and question suggested uncertainty, whereas defense attorney Fred Perri's comparatively easygoing, colorful delivery suggested he might at any moment don a lampshade and turn into the life of the party.
This time prosecutor Lynn Nichols seems more assured and confident. But she still suffers from what we'll call prosecutor-itis—that peculiar affliction in which otherwise sharp, intelligent people begin. to. talk. like. robots. or. maybe. federal. agents.
She made her opening remarks shortly after 10 a.m., and of all the adjectives I could use to describe them, "brief" and "unremarkable" seem most apt. This hardly seems like what she was shooting for. Where was the outrage?
Beanie Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, supposedly shot a guy in the stomach. But the way Nichols talked it seemed like she was accusing him of something with no more emotional impact than speeding.
"On July 1, 2003, at approximately 1 a.m.," she began, "Dwight Grant shot Terrence Speller in the stomach on the corner of 52nd and Larchwood."
My God. With a lead like that, she might as well write for the Inquirer. And she never did get rolling.
Posted by steve at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
What a Face!
Beanie Sigel posed for the camera on South Street just hours after his release from federal prison.
Posted by steve at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
Presumed Guilty
One prospective juror said he saw the rapper on the TV news.
"Do you remember what he was shown in connection with?" asked Judge Shreeves-Johns.
"I just remember this man smoking cigars," he replied, pretty much summing up the first trial. (Sigel did stroll out of the courthouse most days and light up a fat stogie.)
The exchange drew a smile from Sigel's defense attorney Fred Perri, who started whispering in his famous client's ear, no doubt something like, "See, I told you not to light up those cigars!"
Another woman told the judge she was inclined to believe Sigel guilty without hearing a single word of testimony. "He's been accused of so many things," she said. "He must be guilty."
With an attitude like that, the Philly police should recruit her. For his part, Sigel laughed when the woman was dismissed, and shook his head a little ruefully. But after the jury selection process was complete, around 12:30 p.m., he still had the woman on his mind. "She thought I had to be guilty!" he told a few of his supporters. "Do you believe that?"
"At least she was honest," said his mother.
And she's right. The last thing Camp Sigel needs now is some juror who thinks it their duty to sway their 11 peers to a guilty verdict. The attempted murder charges against Sigel could net him a 10-to-20-year sentence.
Opening arguments are expected Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
Expect the hallways outside courtroom 305 to swell with the rapper's supporters, including record mogul Damon Dash.
Posted by steve at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
The Catholic
One man got out of jury duty by saying he would be unable to render a fair judgment.
"Why would that be?" asked Judge Shreeves-Johns.
"Because," replied the man, "I'm Catholic."
"Why would being a Catholic prevent you from rendering a fair judgment?"
"I can't find anyone guilty," the man replied.
Please write me at svolk@philadelphiaweekly.com if I'm wrong, but I was raised Catholic and I thought we presumed everyone was guilty. Anyway, the judge showed him the door too.
Posted by steve at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
Sunshine on My Beanie
Beanie Sigel walked into the first day of jury selection wearing a brown pin-striped suit and the light of God.
Posted by steve at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)
"Thank You!"
The "no speak English" gambit is my fave way of getting out of jury duty.
On the second day of jury selection, a Filipino woman put an "X" in the little square to indicate serving on the jury would present "an extreme hardship."
"What is the hardship?" asked Judge Shreeves-Johns.
The woman said something unintelligible in reply, which sounded like "no," "gnocchi" or "meow." (It was tough to tell.)
"Could you repeat that?" asked Shreeves-Johns, but the woman only shook her head in response, seemingly unable to understand our fine language at all.
"You're excused," Shreeves-Johns said, to which the woman replied in suddenly miraculously perfect English, "Thank you!"
Posted by steve at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)
Jury Selection...
This is the justice system at its finest—or perhaps its most vulnerable and exposed. Some prospective jurors will do anything to get out of jury duty—then suddenly change their mind and do everything they can to stay in.
One young dude at the Sigel trial answered every written question in a manner designed to get him booted:
He had moral, ethical and religious beliefs that might prevent him from making a judgment.
He believed he would have trouble following the judge's instructions.
He had trouble with that whole guilty-until-proven-innocent thing.
But once he got into a courtroom with Beanie Sigel sitting at the defense table, he tried to retract all those answers. "I answered that one wrong," he'd say, or, "I didn't understand that question."
Judge Karen Shreeves-Johns showed him the door and then turned to the courtroom. "I think he didn't want to be here until he saw what case he was going to be on," she said, disgusted.
Posted by steve at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)
One and Done
Expect Beanie Sigel to wear a whole new line of suits for this trial.
"I asked him if we should get him to the tailor and see about getting his suits refitted," says his mother Michelle Brown-Derry. "He said, 'No, Mom. I'm not wearing any of those suits I wore the first time.'"
Brown-Derry says Beans and Damon Dash maintain a strict "one and done" policy: shoes, suits, T-shirts. Whatever they put on, they wear only once.
"Even his everyday clothes," says Brown-Derry, "he doesn't wear 'em again. The last time he toured he wore new white T's every day. When I imagine just the money we spent on T-shirts!"
For the record, Sigel wore a new brown pin-striped number for the first day of jury selection and gray pin-stripes the second.
Posted by steve at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
