Beanie Sigel made
a Municipal Court appearance yesterday, a routine procedure to make sure the rapper’s
upcoming simple assault case is ready for trial.
Sigel, dressed
in jeans and a polo shirt, attended the status hearing with his defense attorney,
Fortunato Perri Jr. His next hearing for this particular trial is November 3.
The latest court
appearance stems from an altercation with a man in January of 2003. According
to prosecutors, Sigel punched a man in the eye after the man made a rude remark
to a woman accompanying Sigel.
Sigel will also
be sentenced on October 8 for federal gun and drug possession charges. Additionally,
Sigel is slated to be retried in Pennsylvania state court for attempted murder
charges for allegedly shooting a man outside of a Philadelphia bar.
A trial in April
ended in a hung jury. In a recent interview, Sigel was doubtful of his chances
at getting a fair retrial.
“They were
giving me nothing but negative press like they don’t like rappers and
entertainers, period,” Sigel told AllHipHop.com. “They feel the
system is lenient with entertainers and already had their minds made up. That
is how I feel.”
Sigel said if jurors
pay attention to the facts in the case and not his status as a rapper, he shouldn’t
be convicted.
“You got
two witnesses, one victim and both of their stories are conflicting and both
are saying the other is lying. The victim saying he got shot some where else
and the witness saying ‘he’s lying, he got shot right here.’”
Sigel revealed
that he was recording two albums at once and making preparations for the future,
in case he has to serve time behind bars.
“You’re
never going to have a fair trial because people are already making up their
minds about you,” Sigel said. “A rapper period already has a dark
cloud over them.”
