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 Sentencing Postponed - 6/13/01
Having pled guilty to cocaine possession, Wu-Tang rapper faces two to four years in state prison. Ol' Dirty Bastard will have another month to contemplate his fate. The rapper's sentencing hearing for cocaine possession, scheduled for Wednesday (June 13), was postponed until July 17 to allow the New York State Department of Probation to revise its pre-sentence report, according to a spokesperson for the Queens County district attorney's office.
ODB (born Russell Jones) faced two to four years in state prison on drug charges when he appeared before Judge Joseph A. Grasso. The judge granted defense attorney Peter Frankel's motion to postpone the hearing until a more complete pre-sentencing report is resubmitted, despite prosecutor Ken Holder's objections.
The Department of Probation is required to file a comprehensive evaluation of the defendant's criminal, social, physical and mental history if a sentence involves state jail time. Frankel said ODB's report did not have sufficient information about the rapper's mental health. Holder, who did not return calls by press time, was prepared to recommend the minimum sentence for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree because of a plea bargain arranged with Frankel. On April 19, the Wu-Tang Clan rapper admitted to possession of 20 vials of crack cocaine found when police searched the vehicle in which he was traveling on July 31, 1999 (see "ODB Pleads Guilty On Drug Charges").
Copyright 2002, The Original Free ODB Coalition
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