Criminal Charges Against Beanie Sigel Dropped

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - October 18, 2007 -- Prosecutors withdrew charges Thursday against rapper Beanie Sigel after he resolved a dispute over a rental car he had kept long past its return date.

Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, rented a 2007 Nissan Altima from Payless Car Rental in July, but did not return it by the Aug. 13 due date or contact the rental company, police said. Payless, which continued to charge the rapper's credit card, reported the car stolen on Sept. 6.

Someone returned the car to Payless on Oct. 5, just as detectives went to Sigel's home in the suburb of Lansdale to arrest him, police said. It had accumulated $5,000 in late fees.

All outstanding fees were paid, said the rapper's attorney, Fortunato N. Perri Jr.

At a preliminary hearing Thursday, prosecutors withdrew charges including theft and receiving stolen property, Perri said.

"This essentially was a misunderstanding between the two parties," Perri said.

The dispute is the latest in a series of problems for the 33-year-old rapper.

He spent a year in federal prison on a gun charge, then was acquitted of attempted murder in August 2005, a month after he left prison. He was briefly jailed in late 2005 for failing to pay $27,000 in child support. The following year, he told police he was shot by men who surrounded him and stole his cash and jewelry.

Earlier this year, a federal judge extended his supervised release amid allegations that he violated parole.

Sigel's albums include "The Truth," "The Reason" and "The B. Coming." He starred in the 2002 film "State Property" and its 2005 sequel, "State Property 2."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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