Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Meek Mill again denied early parole

When Meek Mill was last seen, on Aug. 18, the rising Philadelphia rapper was in prison clothes while his legal team tried to persuade a judge to parole him early from her three- to six-month sentence for violating probation from a 2009 gun and drug conviction.

Meek Mill takes off his tie as he leaves federal court after a verdict went against him in Philadelphia on May 1, 2014. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)
Meek Mill takes off his tie as he leaves federal court after a verdict went against him in Philadelphia on May 1, 2014. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)Read more

When Meek Mill was last seen, on Aug. 18, the rising Philadelphia rapper was in prison clothes while his legal team tried to persuade a judge to parole him early from her three- to six-month sentence for violating probation from a 2009 gun and drug conviction.

Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley wasn't moved then. Still isn't.

On Monday, Brinkley denied a new petition for early parole filed by the rapper's new lawyer, Tariq K. El-Shabazz. The action signaled that the 27-year-old artist - whose real name is Robert Williams - will likely stay in jail at least until his minimum sentence ends Oct. 11.

El-Shabazz, a veteran Philadelphia criminal lawyer, was not immediately available for comment.

For most of the last two years, Williams has been represented by noted criminal defense lawyer Dennis J. Cogan (who also represented former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo) and associate Gary Silver.

Silver especially spent hours trying to coordinate Williams' burgeoning itinerary of concerts, recording dates, and personal appearances so the rapper would not run afoul of his probation officer.

But Williams and Silver repeatedly wound up before Brinkley about complaints that Williams did not have a working phone where he could be reached and made last-minute travel changes without consulting his probation officer.

The volatility ignited July 11.

The judge said that on May 9, she told Silver that the rapper would have to stay home from July 11 to Aug. 11 while she resolved his probationary problems. When Brinkley learned that Williams was due in Washington that night for a concert, she ordered him jailed. The rapper never made it to D.C.

Cogan made a final legal effort, asking the state Supreme Court to take emergency jurisdiction of Williams' case because of what he called fundamental violations of constitutional rights. On Sept. 24, the high court granted Cogan's request for emergency jurisdiction and denied his requested relief.

"That was it," Cogan said on Wednesday. "I got myself out."

Assistant District Attorney Noel Ann DeSantis said Brinkley did not file an explanation for Monday's denial of parole.

In prior hearings, however, Brinkley made no secret of the fact that she does not believe Williams took his probation - or the judge - seriously.

Or, as she put it: "He's thumbing his nose at me."

Last year, Brinkley ordered Williams to take etiquette lessons to learn how to act in public and online, where the rapper had aired his complaints about the judge, DeSantis, and his probation officer in less-than-flattering street slang.

On Aug. 18, Brinkley ordered Williams to complete three more prison courses: anger management, parenting skills - he has a son, 3 - and drug and alcohol counseling.

"If you don't complete them," Brinkley warned, "you'll do the whole six months."

Since then, DeSantis said, Williams has been moved from the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, where he was in protective custody, to Hoffman Hall, a privately run prison in North Philadelphia under contract with the city. DeSantis said the facility offers the courses Brinkley ordered Williams to complete.

Meanwhile, Williams' career as Meek Mill remains on ice.

His advocates say it's costing him millions of dollars from canceled concerts and appearances, and putting in hazard his future success and the security of workers and family who count on him. The Sept. 9 launch of Meek Mill's new album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, was canceled - though Rick Ross, founder of Maybach Music Group, has said it will be released as soon as Williams is.

Though no longer Williams' lawyer, Cogan said he still feels his former client was wronged: "Most people wind up in jail because they don't have jobs. He's in jail because he's working too much."