Beanie Sigel gets year in prison
Rapper Beanie Sigel has been sentenced to a year in federal prison on a gun- possession charge stemming from a traffic stop.
The Jay-Z protege, real name Dwight Grant, could have received more than three years, but the judge cited the rapper's charity work and drug abuse treatment for their lenient decision.
The charges were made during a 2002 incident in which Sigel, 30, jumped from his car and ran after a traffic stop. But the rapper did not get far, and allegedly tossed a loaded gun during the short chase. Officers also found prescription drugs and marijuana in Sigel's sports utility vehicle.
Sigel's rap sheet dates to when he was a teenager and makes it illegal for him to own a handgun.
While a courtroom of supporters - including Jay-Z - looked on, Sigel, who pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this year, told the judge: "I'm not the guy that people think I am. I want (my children) to be able to lift their heads up and say: 'That's my dad. That's Dwight Grant. Not Beanie Sigel.’"
Sigel also faces trial in January on charges he shot and seriously wounded a man outside a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bar, and separate charges that he punched a man in the face.
Sigel must serve two years probation and pay a $25,000 (€20,200) fine.
