Jailed Sigel, whose career has withered while he awaits trial on federal gun and drug charges, can trade his cell for inpatient drug treatment and "anger-management" therapy, a judge ruled yesterday.
U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick's ruling was far from the release on bail Sigel - real name: Dwight Grant - has sought since his July 3 arrest.
But Surrick also left open the possibility he might release Sigel on electronically monitored house arrest with Sigel's mother in Lansdale if the rapper completes the 28-day program.
"Successful completion of this program is a condition of release," Surrick warned Sigel, 29, and his lawyers. "If he fails, he will be immediately returned to custody."
Surrick also sealed the program's name and location and said he would set another hearing after 28 days.
Sigel attorney Fortunato N. Perri Jr. said the decision to keep the program's name and site secret was in part to prevent it from being staked out by reporters and photographers.
"We think it's best for his sake, for the facility's sake, and for the other patients' sake," Perri said.
Sigel, in a green prison jumpsuit and wearing a skull cap, grinned at family and friends as the judge ruled.
Even if Sigel satisfies the judge's requirements, there is no guarantee the rapper will be on the street soon.
Prosecutors from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will be in Common Pleas Court today to argue that Sigel should be held without bail on the attempted-murder charge - unrelated to the federal case - that resulted in his July 3 arrest.
Assistant District Attorney Deborah Robinson is to argue her motion that Sigel should be jailed without bail pending trial on charges he shot a man in the stomach and foot on July 1 after an argument outside a West Philadelphia bar.
Robinson is also to argue an unusual motion to preserve the testimony of some witnesses in the attempted-murder case. She has declined to say whether witnesses may have been threatened.
In the last six years, Sigel has parlayed his initial success as a rapper into two movies, his own recording company, and his own line of clothing. His success has enriched him, his family, and quite a few friends. But, as one recording executive testified earlier, all is now at risk if Sigel cannot resolve his legal problems and quickly return to the studio.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis R. Douglas yesterday argued against releasing Sigel from federal custody, citing Sigel's history of getting arrested while on bail.
"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," Douglas said.
"I'm fully aware of Mr. Grant's background," Surrick said, "but I'm also aware of his accomplishments. And I think it's in his best interest."
Surrick said he was impressed with Sigel's "desire and willingness to address the problems that have gotten him here to begin with."
To assure the judge, Sigel signed a $1 million bond secured by $150,000 cash and five properties with a total value of $400,000. The cash and properties - which include his mother's Lansdale home - would be forfeited to the court if Sigel were to flee.
Sigel was arrested July 3 by Philadelphia police after a concert appearance in Camden and charged with attempted murder in the July 1 shooting of Terrance Speller. The shooting followed an argument about a woman outside the Pony Tail Bar at 52d and Delancey Streets.
Sigel has been in federal custody since July 9, when the U.S. Attorney's Office took over prosecution of an April 20 firearms charge from Philadelphia prosecutors.
The federal case involves an April 20 incident in which police stopped Sigel's Cadillac Escalade in South Philadelphia because its license plate was covered. He allegedly sped off with police in pursuit.
When stopped, Sigel allegedly threw a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol out o
Find out more about Beanie Sigel. Other items you may find on Beanie Sigel include updates, news, multimedia, chat, links and more. Click here...
