Wesley Snipes Ordered To Surrender For Prison Sentence
OCALA, Fla. (AP/CBS) Actor Wesley Snipes may be spending the holidays behind bars.
A federal judge has ordered Snipes to surrender to authorities so he can begin serving a three-year prison sentence for tax related crimes.
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U.S. District Court Judge William Terrell Hodges on Friday rejected a motion by the actor's attorneys to review the his sentence and their request for a new trial. Snipes has been free on bond while appealing.
The 48-year-old star of the "Blade" trilogy and Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" was convicted in 2008 on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file his income tax returns.
His attorney claimed some jurors had decided without hearing any evidence that Snipes was guilty. They also said prosecutors hid damaging information about a key witness.
Prosecutors argued that questioning those jurors about their deliberations would violate juror rules and intimidate future juries.
Messages left by The Associated Press for Snipes' attorney and for prison officials were not immediately returned Friday.
The actor is best known for his work in the "Blade" trilogy and in such action films as "Demolition Man" and "U.S. Marshals."