Rapper Beanie Sigel has agreed to plead guilty
to possession of drugs and being a felon in possession of a gun.
Sigel’s attorney, Fortunato N. Perri Jr. said
that by pleading, Sigel is hoping for a shorter sentence, which could amount
to almost three years.
Sigel was arrested in the early morning hours
of April 20, 2003, following a high speed auto chase and a short foot pursuit.
Two SWAT officers allege they saw Sigel dump
a loaded Mauser .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol.
After Sigel was apprehended, a search of his
Escalade turned up a variety of drugs including seven Alprazolam (Xanax) tabs,
Oxycodone, 10 codeine tabs, two 16-ounce bottles of codeine and a small amount
of marijuana.
Sigel completed a drug counseling program in
Minnesota earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick granted
Sigel permission to travel to New York where he is completing "State Property
2" as well as his latest CD.
Sigel goes on trial next week in state court
on aggravated assault and attempted murder charges. Those incidents stem from a July 2
shooting in Philadelphia. The rapper is accused of shooting a man in the stomach
and foot.
He is also facing trial for fracturing a man’s
eye socket in 2001. Police allege that while on Sigel Street in Philadelphia,
the rapper used his Bentley to block a motorist and pulled him from his truck.
Sigel and several other men allegedly punched
and kicked the motorist fracturing a rib, his eye socket and giving him a concussion.
Sigel has sold a combined total of over 12 million
records.